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If you ask any Twitter user what most appeals to her about the micro-blogging platform, one of the most-heard answers refers to the connection she feels with Ashton Kutcher or whomever is her favorite celebrity. Not only does Twitter let users connect with celebrities' personal thoughts and feelings, but it provides a forum to talk back to them. Of course, most celebrities just use the site to market their latest work, and some don't even write their own tweets (they have assistants and social media marketing managers for that), but this doesn't sway fans from following their idols, like Lady Gaga.
However, VS Technologies, a limited liability company operated from Alexandria, Va., by a patent attorney, has filed a lawsuit against Twitter for patent infringement.
The patent in question is U.S. Patent No. 6,408,309, "Method and System for Creating an Interactive Virtual Community of Famous People". On close inspection, the patent is simply a social networking idea to create "interactive, virtual communities of people in various fields of endeavor wherein each community member has [a]...personal profile containing information about that member."
VS Technologies was awarded the patent in 2002, Twitter was created in 2006 and the suit was filed on Jan. 18, 2011.
The argument could be made, and doubtless will be by the defendant's attornies, that VS Technologies' patent summarizes every single social networking website, application and community forum on the Internet, today.
Twitter allows users to post updates conforming to a text message limit of 140 characters. Twitter users, or "tweeps", follow other users, and all followers of a particular user receive messages posted either online or from mobile devices. Early adopters were government organizations, such as fire departments, search-and-rescue teams and even NASA. It was seen as a way to get simple messages to multiple contacts quickly and easily. After 2007, popularity grew and celebrities saw it as a way to reach out to fans.
In the lawsuit, VS Technologies is demanding compensation in the form of royalties for use of its patent.
Twitter has responded stating that it will "vigorously defend" itself against this allegation. Legal experts are saying that Twitter may even go after the U.S. Patent Office because analysts say the patent should never have been granted in the first place as it does not support the spirit of the patents and the reason they exist. Twitter also is arguing that the patent does not properly encourage innovation.
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