[Batsu]

Close - Dodgeball was created in 2000 and acquired by Google in 2005. In 2009, they discontinued Dodgeball in favor of Google Latitude.

It looks as though prior art existed well before Facebook even existed. I don't think anyone has anything to worry about.

[sbov]

What about the cost of simply defending against a lawsuit?

http://www.inventionstatistics.com/Patent_Litigation_Costs.h...

[batasrki]

If it's not enforceable, why the hell is it granted? That's total bullshit, seriously.

[jdunck]

Because the patent system in the US, particularly software patent, is entirely broken: http://www.bnet.com/blog/technology-business/patent-office-a...