[IM-patents] Active Buddy patent application on "Bots"

[Bob Wyman]

The Active Buddy patent application on "Bots" or "autoresponders is a
good example of why I think we need to be more proactive in thinking
about IM patents. The application, filed 1 Aug 2002 can be found on the
USPTO site as: 
	Number 20020103917, Method and system for interactively
responding to instant messaging requests
	If granted, this application would allow Active Buddy to claim
that many uses of IM bots are infringements of their patent. While many
will argue that there is a great deal of prior art that would allow one
to discredit the patent, it is still likely that many people would
simply pay whatever fees that Active Buddy demands as long as those fees
are lower than what the cost of getting lawyers to fight it out would
be.
	So, we now get to wait to see if this application turns into a
patent. Note: Even though we can see and study the application,
according to US law, since it is more than two months after the
application was published, even if we have voluminous amounts of prior
art that could be used to convince a patent examiner *not* to issue a
patent, we are not legally permitted to notify the patent office of that
prior art.
	However, if one discovers a patent application like this one
from Active Buddy, within two months after the application is published
on the PTO site, one can send to the PTO examples of prior art that will
be considered by the patent examiner. Thus, if we had noticed this
Active Buddy application before 1 Oct 2002, and had sent to the PTO
examples of prior art, then the liklihood of a patent being issued would
be drastically reduced.
	I think it makes sense for folk that are really interested in
having Instant Messaging be an arena in which innovation is freely
pursued to scan new patent applications on a regular basis and, when
appropriate, organize efforts to submit that appropriate prior art to
the PTO to ensure that stupid patents don't get issued.

	To see the Active Buddy application try:
http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=7&u
=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=344&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1='instan
t+messaging'&OS="instant+messaging"&RS="instant+messaging"

	To see the PTO procedures on submitting prior art within two
months of an application being filed, see:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/0600_610.htm#sect610

	There are now 705 pending patent applications that contain the
phrase "instant messaging."... How many of those, if turned into
patents, will cause Jabber and others in the IM world considerable
difficulty? How many of those applications could be stopped by
submitting prior art during their evaluation period? Many, I think.

		bob wyman