Future of IM for desktops, but more importantly for us PPC users..

[smittyofdhs]

I know this is more important to the desktop environment but it does effect us PPC users. Especially with the emergence of always-on type devices. Good old "AO-SMELLS" (aka AOL) just got a patent on IM technology which was applied for back in 1997. If enforced it would allow them to sue anybody creating a IM type system and/or charge for use of IM technology.

And they say Microsoft is a monopoly. Look at this frickin' company.

http://msn-cnet.com.com/2100-1023-9...&subj=cn_fd

[Fzara]

This seems like bad news to Trillian. (www.trillian.cc)

[Janak Parekh]

Hmm, I smell a front-page post coming up on this. Interesting stuff. :)

--janak

[smittyofdhs]

I can't believe any intelligent governing body (yes I know that's an oxymoron) would issue a patent on something like this. Applying for it is one thing but to actually grant the patent is idiotic. That's like granting MS a patent on Office-type products...Sorry Corel you can't make anything that does spreadsheet functions because MS has a patent on Excel and all spreadsheet programs of the like.

Get real AOL....better yet....get real US Patent Board!

[Kati Compton]

This seems like bad news to Trillian. (www.trillian.cc)

The question is will they go after the clients, or the networks. Trillian doesn't provide a network, just an interface for other networks...

[Janak Parekh]

The question is will they go after the clients, or the networks.
The question is even more so whether they'll go after either. They've already been handed down directives to open up networks. If they're seen as killing competition, that would be fatal from the government's perspective.

--janak

[Fzara]

I think AOL also receives some kind of profit if any for their advertisements on AIM. I think that AOL will go after Trillian, as Trillian has had numerous amounts of errors trying to connect to AOL, when it really has been AOL trying to stop them from illegally using their network.

Only the future beholds the fate of Trillain.

[Brad Adrian]

I can't imagine what kind of goonies actually made this judgement. I also can't imagine what kind of headaches would be involved if AOL tried to ever enforce its patent. I would consider this more of a "moral victory" for AOL than anything else.

[smittyofdhs]

I think AOL also receives some kind of profit if any for their advertisements on AIM. I think that AOL will go after Trillian, as Trillian has had numerous amounts of errors trying to connect to AOL, when it really has been AOL trying to stop them from illegally using their network.

Only the future beholds the fate of Trillain.

but the way trillain attachs to the network.... they aren't breaking into the network as MSN tried to do way back when. Back in those days, MSN actually hacked into AOL's network. You were not required to have an AIM screen name, you could just use your MSN name. Doesn't Trillain require you to have screen names for all three apps?

I thought Trillain was actually like having AIM, MSN, and Yahoo programs all loaded on the desktop? Trillian uses the programming of the three apps but have combined it into one product and use a unified front end so the user doesn't know that it's actually like having three apps loaded.

is this correct?

[smittyofdhs]

This seems like bad news to Trillian. (www.trillian.cc)

The question is will they go after the clients, or the networks. Trillian doesn't provide a network, just an interface for other networks...

kati's point is perfect with regard to trillain. They patent says it will prevent networks from doing this, not the client. So trillain is just creating a unified front end to access 3 networks...the people infringing on the patent would be Yahoo and MSN, and that's for having the network in place.

Either way, it will never hold water in courts of AOL and MS go at it again.

[Fzara]

I think AOL also receives some kind of profit if any for their advertisements on AIM. I think that AOL will go after Trillian, as Trillian has had numerous amounts of errors trying to connect to AOL, when it really has been AOL trying to stop them from illegally using their network.

Only the future beholds the fate of Trillain.

but the way trillain attachs to the network.... they aren't breaking into the network as MSN tried to do way back when. Back in those days, MSN actually hacked into AOL's network. You were not required to have an AIM screen name, you could just use your MSN name. Doesn't Trillain require you to have screen names for all three apps?

I thought Trillain was actually like having AIM, MSN, and Yahoo programs all loaded on the desktop? Trillian uses the programming of the three apps but have combined it into one product and use a unified front end so the user doesn't know that it's actually like having three apps loaded.

is this correct?

yes, your facts are correct. However, is it not illegal that Trillian did not ask AOL for its permission to use its network? Using AOL's network is ilegally using it to gain personal gain. For ex., Trillian Pro has been launched, and is now a pay-client.

To be honest, Trillian is definitely a change in the GUI compared to AIM. However, I am worried since AIM's network was not licensed to Trillian.\

My facts are definitely wrong, so I would appreciate it if someone could correct my mistakes.

[jzdziarski]

This appears to be the primary patent, although filed in 1999:

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=ft00&s1=instant&s2=messaging&OS=instant+AND+messaging&RS=instant+AND+messaging

And here is a list of the other AOL patents regarding instant messaging:

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=instant+messaging&FIELD1=&co1=AND&TERM2=america+online&FIELD2=&d=ft00

1990 Feist Publications, Inc. V. Rural Telephone company ruled that publishing facts is not a violation of copyright, and therefore publishing links to these facts is not either...not to mention these patents are a matter of public record anyways.

[Kati Compton]

yes, your facts are correct. However, is it not illegal that Trillian did not ask AOL for its permission to use its network? Using AOL's network is ilegally using it to gain personal gain. For ex., Trillian Pro has been launched, and is now a pay-client.


But the company Trillian isn't using the network for their own IM'ing service. The user is, via an account that they have created on that network... If anything, it would be the user at fault, I would think, for using the AOL network with an "unauthorized" client. But they may go after Trillian anyway. I just don't think they would be right to do so.

[Janak Parekh]

More importantly, there have been "sanctioned" unauthorized clients on the AIM network. AOL developed a Unix Tcl client that used a protocol called "Toc" (the client, of course, was "Tic" ;)). I don't know if the protocol is still there, but anyone could write a client to it.

Quite frankly, if AOL thought they had a case and thought it would be a good thing to go after Trillian, they would have already tried the intimidation, wide array of lawsuits, etc. tricks.

--janak

[dunneldeen]

Quite frankly, if AOL thought they had a case and thought it would be a good thing to go after Trillian, they would have already tried the intimidation, wide array of lawsuits, etc. tricks.

--janak

They have tried, but the Trillian developers have been just as good in getting around their tricks.