Social Networking Patents Are On The Rise
As social networking becomes more important and occupies more presence in people’s lives, the number of those seeking related patents increases. It’s not unusual for innovators and creators to follow the need and the market, and software inventors, including of that for mobile devices and social networking applications, certainly fit this mold. This doesn’t mean that it’s all smooth sailing—as with other software patents, sometimes it’s a lot more difficult to explain why what you’ve created is worth an exclusive patent.
Showing What You’ve Got
Social networking is a wide and growing field. Beyond the big names that everyone knows, like Twitter and Facebook, are newcomers and hangers-on (those whose networks depend on other networks.) For almost each of these, small and large, is someone seeking to make their mark by making the service better, faster, more easily accessible and, sometimes, by using it to do something entirely different. The laws and the courts are, at times, a little slow to catch up to innovation, but the patent process is the same regardless. You must be able to demonstrate and prove that your invention does what it says it does.
Who Can Help?
Going through the patent application process can be confusing, as well as expensive, so it’s best to be prepared as possible. You will want (and even need, at some point) to consult a patent attorney somewhere near the start of your process. It’s especially important in the software field that a thorough patent search be done, and that by someone who knows what they are looking for—and what they are looking at when they find it. The same holds for your choice of a patent attorney. Seek out one who is familiar with software patents, with the complexity involved, and who will be able to navigate both the legal and technical language involved.
Carry on inventing, but protect your work. Who knows? Maybe you will be the one to not only join the social networking revolution, but to invent the engine that powers its next stage.
