Slashdot Mirror
Company Claims Ownership of Digital Messaging
An anonymous reader writes "Kootol, yet another patent troll, is going after everyone who makes messaging software for violating their soon-to-be-granted patent, which claims they invented one- and two-way messaging in 2005. From the article: 'Kootol, founded in 2010, says it has a patent license agreement with Yogesh Rathod for control of U.S. Patent Application 11/995,343. Rathod, in fact, is a co-founder of Kootol with his brother Vijay Rathod. According to Kootol, the patent application “covers core messaging, publication and real time searching technology.” Interestingly, the patent in question hasn’t actually been awarded to Kootol or Rathod yet. Rather, The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued “A Notice of Allowance.” That’s the term for when the USPTO says that an applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, but must pay an issue fee (and potentially publication fee) first, within three months.'"
Surely the SMTP protocol is a one way messaging protocol - and is older than I am!
The "talk" program was available on the DEC PDP-11 computer system in the 1970s and in BSD v4.2 since 1983.
You mean, other than the "by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries" part which you conveniently left out.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law