WebProNews

eBay Settles Patent Suit With MercExchange

eBay and MercExchange have reached a settlement that finally puts to rest a patent dispute that at one time went as high as the U.S. Supreme Court and that started back in 2001.eBay and MercExchange had been involved in litigation over MercExchange's patents and eBay's online auctions and fixed price related ecommerce operations.

Amazon Receives Patent On (Slightly Special) Error Pages

Amazon.com is a decent place to shop for books, CDs, or whatever else you like.  It's also a good site to read reviews, even if you do your buying elsewhere.  But the company has once again embarrassed itself by receiving an obvious patent.

Google Looking to Recognize Text in Images

Information Week has reported that in June of 07 Google filed a patent application, which has just become available, outlining a “method of optical character recognition in digital images.” The application seems to cover both static images as well as video. The ability to do this could radically change a number of existing Google services as well as again change the way the Internet marketing world interacts with images and video.

Google Notebook Could Influence Rankings

Google has filed 3 new patents for its Google Notebook service which suggest plans to use Notebook listings as an additional factor in calculating Google's search engine rankings. Bill Slawski reported on the new Google Notebook patents; highlighting the points in the 3rd patent (Presenting Search Result Information) that refer to potential ties between Google Notebook content and Google's ranking algorithm.

Microsoft Tries To Patent Conversational Closers

Can’t be bothered to type “goodbye” at the end of IM conversation?  That’s okay - Microsoft wants to do it for you.  The real kicker, though, is that Microsoft also wants to patent this practice.

Patent Examination Goes Social

There is little doubt that patents are driving innovation. However, those same patents can hinder the progress if applied incorrectly.

Google Patents Hint At Ad Choices

Several patent applications made by Google point toward a product that allows people to drop specific advertisements into their online communications.

Local Search Patent Holder Threatens Everybody

Verizon is first on a London-based company's list of lawsuits to file (or licensing agreements to be extracted) after winning the rights to a 1999 patent for location-based search. Next up: any online service offering local search services.

Google Patents Profiling of Online Gamers

In March Google acquired the in-game advertising technology firm Adscape Media. Though some have their doubts, advertising within video games is seen as an effective way to reach the coveted demographic of men 18-34. According to Google:

Google Files Patent For Targeting In-Game Ads

With its purchase of Adscape, Google sent a clear message that it was looking to establish an advertising presence in the worlds of both online and offline gaming. In a patent filing, the company outlines particular strategies that it is seeking to implement to gather specific information on gamers in order to tailor personalized advertising toward them.