The Death of Social Networking?

Sagging social network Friendster was awarded a patent on some pretty fundamental qualities of online social networking late last month. The patent covers the determining and display of relationships between individuals who have entered personal information into a social network; specifically, determining who is in your circle of friends and who isn’t. The patent application was filed just over three years ago - what a great example of the dangers of a behind-the-times US Patent and Trademark Office. New technologies in many fields pose a real problem when the USPTO tries to find examiners and infrastructure capable of knowing what existing practices are, evaluating non-obviousness, etc.

Friendster has a number of prominent investors and Kleiner Perkins put in additional funds this February. CNN’s The Browser blog writes today that “Suing rivals for patent infringement is no way to make friends — but it is a way to make money.” When asked whether licenses or lawsuits were likely, Friendster President Kent Lindstrom told RedHerring.com, “it’s way too early to say…We’ll do what we can to protect our intellectual property.”