I'm not sure if this is new news or not (Critters should know ) Basically, Google are looking to patent contextual advertising via syndication. This could be a huge blow to the likes of Yahoo! and other PPC networks if they manage to do it. http://news.com.com/Google+tries+to+patent+Web+syndication+ads/2100-1024_3-5810885.html?tag=alert Sorry if this has already been mentioned - I looked but didn't see any mention of it.
Actually it would only accelerate them since if it was in production before the patent was accepted they would not have to pay royalties
Software patents are evil. Does a patent really apply here? As I understand it, a patent applies to a method for doing something. If I happen to do something in a totally different manner that produces a similar (or identical) result, there should be no patent violation. Except there's already been a precedent set with the .GIF format, a few years back. This is just another example of our neanderthal legal system which doesn't have a clue about computers.
link 2 SEW -> http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=7064 link to patent -> http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph...&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=google&OS=google&RS=google