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Analyzing AT&T's Anti-Anti-Spam Patent

Posted by simoniker on from the oddness-abounds dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Dan Gillmor is reporting in his eJournal taken, in turn, from Gregory Aharonian: AT&T has apparently been awarded a patent for circumventing certain spam filters, thereby providing slimeball spammers with yet a bigger hammer!" The patent covers "A system and method for circumventing schemes that use duplication detection to detect and block unsolicited e-mail (spam.)", although it's unclear exactly what AT&T want it for.

4 of 314 comments (clear)

  1. Hey! Shortsighted people! by KFury · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Has it occured to anyone that by patenting an anti-anti-spam technique, AT&T can legally forbid spammers from using that technique?'

    Yay AT&T. I applaud you.

    --

    Kevin Fox
    1. Re:Hey! Shortsighted people! by Shakrai · · Score: 5, Insightful
      spammers are already very often violating state laws, violating their ISP AUP, and peddling illegal scams and therefore make themselves hard to find

      Hey, I hope this doesn't get me modded flamebait but I've had this thought for awhile and this seems like the ideal article to raise it in. Disclaimer: I am not endorsing or defending SPAM or the people behind it.

      Has anyone else thought that the most effective way to combat SPAM would be with education not filters/lawsuits/etc?

      It would seem logical to me to assume that at least a large number of (if not a vast majority of?) spammers are ignorant as to why it's a bad idea. They don't know much about the Internet, and some idiot with a spam-software outfit approaches them and tells them about this "Great Marketing Idea", sells them some software (that may or may not do various bad things like hiding headers/etc), and off they go!

      My boss approached me once with some literature he received from one of these software companies. After my initial "WTF??? You aren't serious???" reaction I sat down with him and explained some of the history behind spamming, why it's a bad idea, would piss off our existing customers/alienate new ones, etc etc etc. Based on this experience it would seem to me that the most logical solution would be to educate the companies behind the spamming as to why it's a "Bad Idea".

      Of course, this theory doesn't hold any water when you look at pornographic spam, Nigerian bank fraud spam (my personal favorite), pyramid schemes, etc etc. But it probably would be a better approach when dealing with the idiots who have been duped into thinking that unsolicited e-mail is a legitimate marketing tool. At the very least it can't hurt any.

      Just a thought I've had for awhile now.

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  2. PRECISELY! by Chas · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now, instead of being well-nigh untouchable due to spam's precarious placement as little more than a highly undesireable activity, AT&T can go after spammers IN COURT on grounds of PATENT INFRINGEMENT.

    And going to court over something like this takes megabucks. Especially against a company the size of AT&T. Even if the spammers somehow weasel out on technicalities (like they didn't actually infringe on the patent directly), they're still going to be out so much money that their great grandkids aren't even going to be able to go to any educational institution after public high school.

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  3. ATT will be selling circumvention by djupedal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1980...
    Remember being charged for an unlisted number?

    1990...
    AT&T sells us caller-id, and then sells caller-id avoidance devices to marketeers, then sells us next-gen caller id to thwart their devices...etc...etc.

    AT&T has been playing the middle for years...I see no reason for them to stop now. Patents just mean more money, faster.