Comments on: Google tries to patent Web syndication ads

If granted, patent could throw a wrench in the emerging market around syndicated headlines delivered via the popular RSS format.

Say What?

Oh come on Google, next you'll claim a patent on informercials. This is truly ridiculous.

[R. U. Sirius]

heh heh

Next look for Microsoft to patent John Basedow The Fitness Guru.

[wiizard]

Best of Manitoba RSS

Might their patent application impact my RSS feed at http://
www.bestofmanitoba.com/rss.php? There is active marketing
taking place in this feed. Is there a 'Patent Injunction for
Dummies'?

[PriceComparison.com]

The patent office would be crazy to allow that...

Ridiculous!!!

Maybe I should patent delivering advertisement while driving in a car too????

I like Google, I think the company is sharp, smart and aggressive. But this decision is insulting to the patent office and to other marketing companies on the internet.

I work for www.PriceComparison.com, I am going to talk to my partners tomorrow to consider applying for a patent to secure the technology of delivery advertisement of comparison shopping over RSS. I am sure my partners are going to laugh and think I am crazy.

Andrew @at@ PriceComparison.com

[mortis9]

good example

this is a good example of how certain patents can stifle competition, and capitalism is all about competition (that's what my book says anyway)

[Andrew J Glina]

Do No Evil

Better check your rule book Google. This is not nice and I hope if fails.

[capola]

Two reason why they will not get the patent

I doubt Google will be able to get this patent. There are two questions that undermine this patent:

1. What constitutes as "syndicated content" or RSS? Is it any type file, or just RSS files? Is it any type of content, or is it the purpose of the content (syndicate vs. display to user)
2. Is the invention something new, or just a modified existing one. (and all that is changed is that is for syndicated content)

The patent refers to syndicated content most of the time, and at times it refers to it as RSS. However what is an RSS feed? It is just an XML document that lists items and descriptions. It is not very different from HTML, SMIL, ASX, etc. They are all structured documents used to display content to a user or to another machine. Syndication refers to sharing content with other companies, like for example most of the news today are syndicated from Reuters or Associated Press. However, RSS is mainly used today by RSS readers which resides in users computer - not sure that refers to syndication anymore.

As a bout the second point, there have been several products way before 2003 that delivered ads in the same method described in this patent. The only difference is that at the time they were not used for RSS feeds, but for HTML pages or SMIL.

One of these products is Real Server from Real Networks. This product allowed publishers to deliver ads in Real Player since 2000. Real Player uses SMIL(http://www.w3.org/AudioVideo/) to display interactive content to a user, mainly video/audio. It is a sort of enhanced playlist markup language. Real Server allows publishers to host special SMIL files with special tags that specified to real server to insert an ad at that point in the SMIL file. When a user made a request to play the SMIL file, the Real server would contact the adserver(any adserver on the market) specified in the tag or in the configuration of the real server and pass any data to that adserver in the request, which in return would select an ad based on those parameters and serve it back to the Real Server. The ad returned would be a valid SMIL document which than the real server encapsulated in the main SMIL file and serve it to the user requesting it. (http://www.service.real.com/help/library/guides/server8/htmfiles/adserve.htm#1066909)

However, Real Networks was not the first to come up with such invention. This invention can be traced back to the old server side include technology most webservers support back. Many adserver solutions on the market have utilized such methods to deliver ads on webpages from back in 1996. The main commercial adservers that are still alive are DART Enterprise (the old Netgravity, DoubleClick purchased in 1999) and 24/7 Real Media. Publishers that would use these product would install the adserver in their datacenters and integrate it with their webservers. When a user makes a request for webpage, the webserver contacts an adserver utilizing some plugin and passed to the adserver any information on the page (specified by the publisher). The adserver would select an ad based on the information and pass to webserver a chunk of HTML representing the ad.

[Earl Benser]

Watch out everybody.....

... patent lawyers are a more of a plague than ambulance chasers.
But what's worse is the mental midgets in management who think
that everythng needs to be patented to prove their virility. If this
uncontrolled patent crap continues, soon there will be no patents
at all.

No Way!

If I understand the article correctly Google is asking to monopolize advertising income from a public News broadcasting service? Preposterous! If such a legal precedence where finally allowed the repercussions would be devastating!

[Scott W]

evil

so now the googlites start to go the way of microsoft. i suppose this is what happens when you hire employess from evil corporations.