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My 2 featured articles for the week ending Oct. 5, 2007:

Archived blogs for the week of October 1st, 2007

1384 - Oct. 4, 2007 - 9.54 AM EST

Google sued over bidding patent

Google has been sued for patent infringement. This is the third time it happens in the last few weeks. The trend seems to be increasing rapidly, and not just with Google.

On September 25, Performance Pricing filed suit against America Online, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft charging the four search companies with infringing upon its patent, "Systems and methods for transacting business over a global communications network such as the Internet."

The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of Texas.

There where a large number of patent cases filed in Texas in recent years due to the district's perceived friendliness to "wronged" inventors.

Overall, there were 218 patent infringement lawsuits filed in Texas, from January 2004 through April of this year, according to the Coalition for Patent Fairness, a group that counts Google and Microsoft as current members.

Another case in point: In mid-September, Illinois Computer Research sued Google in Illinois' Northern District Court for violating a patented method of navigating through online books.

At the end of August 2007, AOL, Amazon, Borders, Google, IAC, and Yahoo were sued in the same district by Texas-based Polaris IP for violating a patented method of automated e-mail routing.

For its part, Performance Pricing alleges that Google AdWords, AOL Search Marketplace, Microsoft adCenter and Yahoo Search Marketing all violate its patent, which was filed in 1999 and granted two years ago.

Performance Pricing's patent describes a system for competitive bidding. The patent explains "the present invention comprises a business model used to determine the price of goods and/or services to be provided from a seller or sellers to a buyer or buyers. Various forms of electronic competition and/or entertainment are used as intermediary activities between said buyers and sellers to ultimately determine a contract price."

The patent claims to cover a wide variety of activities: video games, electronic board games, crossword puzzles or other word games, sports betting, card games, or any other activity or combination of activities.

Presumably, the plaintiff believes the patent covers Internet ad auctions at the same time. Read more...

Posted on Businessblog™

1383 - Oct. 2, 2007 - 11.09 AM EST

Yahoo and Telefonica ink deal

Yahoo is in the news again today...

Yahoo and Telefonica yesterday announced a global agreement providing a framework for making oneSearch, Yahoo's industry leading mobile search product, the main search service on Telefonica's mobile portals in fifteen countries in Europe and Latin America.

Overall, Telefonica will make it easier for its customers to find relevant results on their mobile devices with Yahoo's solution.

Yahoo OneSearch is specifically designed for mobile devices, delivering results directly in the first screen and thus eliminating the need for consumers to navigate through many links to Web sites to find the information they want.

Yahoo OneSearch offers Internet users access to news, financial information, weather conditions, Flickr photos, Web images, as well as Web and Mobile websites.

Yahoo and Telefonica are enhancing the search experience for consumers on mobile phones, while providing both companies with new revenue streams through mobile advertising.

"Today, partners are essential to our mobile strategy and these key relationships, like the one we are announcing today with Yahoo, will continue to evolve and deliver state-of-the-art Internet experiences to our customers at home or at the office," said Julio Linares, Telefonica's G.M. for Coordination and Business Development. Read more...

Posted on Businessblog™

1382 - Oct. 1, 2007 - 3.46 PM EST

Yahoo sites voted Best of the Web

Last week, Business Week released its annual “Best of the Web” user survey. Among the most liked sites are some of Yahoo's properties such as Finance, Games, Health, Music and News.

On Yahoo's Yodel Anecdotal blog, it quotes itself as having "established a center of excellence by having Yahoos in residence in a major media capital, benefiting its partners."

Yahoo is planning some changes that will also benefit its users and customers. It is streamlining the structure of one portion of its entertainment division with a new vision of offering a more integrated entertainment experience.

This means Yahoo will be creating more synergies between its music, games, movies, TV, and OMG properties, making them more personal and engaging for entertainment buffs.

Additionally, rather than staffing entertainment business units around distinct properties, the company is freeing up resources to feed new areas of focus.

Yahoo will be investing in the development of next generation media platforms, applications and services. More here...

Posted on Businessblog™

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