Plaxo Spam Patented... By Someone Else

from the oops dept

We've had our problems with Plaxo's business model in the past, but to find out that someone else had already patented their business model and is now suing them for it, seems a bit silly. It's yet another case where we have to ask what is the societal benefit here? What was wrong with letting the various competitors in this space simply compete in the market, rather than granting a monopoly to one of them?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Bevans, 24 May 2006 @ 2:53am

    benefit

    "societal'? Do you perhaps mean "social"?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2006 @ 3:56am

      Re: benefit

      societal as in 'society'...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Pongidae, 24 May 2006 @ 7:14am

      Re: benefit

      Off Topic:
        Actually he meant Societal, which is defined as "Of or relating to the structure, organization, or functioning of society."

        You really should look up the meaning of a word you don't recognize or understand before trying to correct someone else's grammar. Always remember, it is better to sit in silence and appear ignorant, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Sorry about the flame and for getting way off topic but this is a pet peeve of mine. People in general should think, get their facts straight and only then make comment.

      On Topic:
        This story would have been humorous if the company holding the patent was going to use it to stop the spammer industry. Sadly there is no such luck with this type of "bottom feeding" industry.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Daniel (profile), 24 May 2006 @ 4:31am

    But this is a GOOD thing!

    If someone else has patented their business model of "spam everyone until they sign up", then they can't keep using it, right? If they have to stop spamming me, I'm happy!

    Now, if someone would just patent online drug spam, mortgage spam and a couple of others, I'll no longer need a spam filter!

    Yay Patents!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Daniel (profile), 24 May 2006 @ 4:46am

    Oh and don't forget the fact that Monopolies are I

    Also, if you grant a monopoly to one person, they don't have to compete against others to maintain their profitibility. In this case, that means whoever has this patent doesn't have to try very hard (read 'send LOTS of spam') to be competitive. Again, less spam for me! How's THAT for a 'societal benefit'?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    scott, 24 May 2006 @ 5:25am

    sure set a extremely stupid precedent for a extremely short run benefit.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Daniel (profile), 24 May 2006 @ 6:21am

    START a precedent?!

    The precedent is already there. If I'm already going to be stuck with patent monopolies on stuff that I WANT to see competing on a free market, why shouldn't I enjoy it when a patent restricts something I DON'T want?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Scott, 24 May 2006 @ 6:34am

    About Plaxo SPAM....

    It's annoying to get the plaxo spam messages, but then I finally decided to give it a try. And I have to admit, it's pretty damn useful. I think the US Patent Office should use the same model... When someone signs up for a Patent of a "business process", the Patent office sends an Email to EVERYBODY just letting them know that someone has applied for a patent on something, and then lets you sign up and makes suggestions on things that you could apply for a patent for.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2006 @ 6:59am

    USPTO Strikes Again

    "Method And System For Automatically Updating Information Within A Contact Database"

    Wow, this patent was granted in 2004...

    I can't imagine there isn't prior art out there.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Jeffrey Tinsley, 24 May 2006 @ 8:23pm

      Re: USPTO Strikes Again

      Even though the patent was awarded in 2004, it was originally filed all the way back on December 22, 2000.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2006 @ 10:02pm

        Re: Re: USPTO Strikes Again

        Even in 2000, I find it hard to believe that there isn't a lot of prior art. Much of it is probably propriatery, but the basic idea has been used for a long time in a pretty wide variety of applications.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    ANTIPLAXO, 24 May 2006 @ 7:29am

    Plaxo

    All I can say is that I hate Plaxo. People like having little nice graphics at the bottom of their email, but uploading your entire contact list for the cost of that is in the realm of pure SPAM when you business all of a sudden starts getting email from them asking you to sign up for their service. Then to bundle it in with AOL Triton Instant Messenger is Insane. PLAXO YOU SUCK.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Business Plaxo Hater, 24 May 2006 @ 7:34am

    Plaxo

    If you don't mind your whole contact lists being stored on some server that you don't own and don't know who has access to it and your company doesn't mind all their email addresses on it and everyone getting spam from them, then feel free to use it but just make sure that every single one of your contacts knows that your going to upload your contacts to them ahead of time and that they will get plaxo spam in the future.

    Companies offering things for Free raises big question marks in my mind. Nothing is free. Free to me means that I will get adware or Spam for compensation.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous of Course, 24 May 2006 @ 10:28am

      Re: Plaxo

      There is plenty of free software available
      without the risk of spam, adware or other
      noxious content.

      It's sad that in the end the nice people get
      lumped in with the jerks and everyone is under
      suspicion.

      I don't know which I despise more, companies that
      spam or people that buy from companies that spam.

      There must be a lot of overweight, dysfunctional,
      midget penises in need of a low interest rate
      mortgage and cut-rate prescription drugs in this
      world

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Phil Dirt, 6 Oct 2007 @ 5:56pm

    question

    I don't get it....

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.