Patent Lawsuit Threatens to Clip Twitter’s Wings

Patent Lawsuit Threatens to Clip Twitter’s Wings


TechRadium, a little known Texas-based player in the emergency mass-notification field, didn’t just wake up this month and decide to sue Twitter for patent infringement.

The company says it didn’t care about Twitter when the Twitterati was watching the tweets of NBA superstars, musicians, politicians and news outlets. But then TechRadium began seeing promotional materials and news accounts of companies, school districts and local governments using, or considering adopting, the microblogging service as their emergency notification system – muscling into TechRadium’s wheelhouse.

“Honestly, that’s what got us the attention of Twitter,” said Shawn Staples, TechRadium’s attorney. “We don’t really give a damn about social networking. TechRadium is concerned that it developed these patents by extending a lot of time and money and is protecting its market.”

picture-26Now the lawsuit, filed August 5 in a Texas federal court, could become a financial thorn in Twitter’s side. Heavily venture-funded, the free three-year-old microblogging service is working to find a business model.

Patent law is complex, and legal experts interviewed by Threat Level declined to predict the outcome of the lawsuit, but they agreed it’s not a frivolous claim. TechRadium appears to have some legal legs to stand on in the nation’s first lawsuit attacking Twitter’s tweeting protocol.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/patent-lawsuit-threatens-to-clip-twitters-wings/

It's incredibly expensive for those asserting rights against organizations that are flush with cash. The weedeater and the variable speed wipers were two of the biggest such cases the past 40 years.

I do not doubt that twitter may have pilfered some technology. It's very common. Stopping it is what is uncommon.

I skimmed the article, and it appears that those challenging twitter are funded and have a case that could win. Patent law allows very favorable venue provisions for those who wish to assert their patent rights, and picking a venue is a key to success.

..people were just using their code for fun and everyday life.
But using it for profit?...I don't blame them for saying "Alright, you're crossing the line now".