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URLs Patented, Domain Registrars Sued

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the getting-worse-before-getting-better dept.

theodp writes "A newly formed company is suing Network Solutions and Register.com for infringing on its e-mail and domain naming patent, which covers assigning each member of a group a URL of the form 'name.subdomain.domain' and an e-mail address of the form 'name@subdomain.domain.'"

3 of 650 comments (clear)

  1. Re:WTF? by bssea · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually.. to file a patent you don't have to *invent* anything. You just have to show "the use of an idea for a process, machine, item of manufacture, or composition of matter". The mere writing it down is considered the "invention".

    On a side note.. the idea is also supposed to be "novel, useful, AND, nonobvious". This topic fails on at least two of the cases. It's neither novel, nor nonobvious. This is U.S. Patent Law. If you don't like it, talk to your congressman.

    --sea

    Credit of quotes: class notes (Computers and the Law.. yeah who the hell needs to look stuff up?)

  2. Prior art, DNS zone files by RT+Alec · · Score: 5, Informative

    From the patent documentation:

    1. A method for assigning URL's and e-mail addresses to members of a group comprising the steps of:

    assigning each member of said group a URL of the form "name.subdomain.domain"; and

    assigning each member of said group an e-mail address of the form "name@subdomain.domain;"

    wherein the "name" portion of said URL and said e-mail address is the same and unique for each particular one of said members such that an only difference between said URL and said e-mail address for said member is that in said URL the "@" symbol of the e-mail address is replaced with a "." and wherein said "subdomain" portion of said URL and said e-mail address is the same for all members of said group.

    This is the precice format for e-mail addresses in DNS zone file, for the SOA record. See RFC 1034, section 3.3. Date of prior art, 1987.

  3. Re:Stop the World i wana get off by ophix · · Score: 5, Informative

    might there be some prior art?

    when setting up a zone file with bind you specify an email address of the admin in charge of the domain in the SOA record.

    an email address of joeuser@somedomain.com would be written as joeuser.somedomain.com. admittedly its not a direct prior art, but i can definately see someone making a jump from this to what the patent is about.

    just my 2 cents

    Ophidian