In the wake of BT’s claim earlier this week to patent rights in
hyperlinking, US company TeleDynamics has made a patent application
which it maintains will have widespread ramifications for several
telecommunication mediums including the internet and telephone
services.
The patent covers all transactions carried out as part of a
“lead generation” process. Although the patent remains unpublished,
and therefore its detail is not yet known, this is expected to
encompass situations where companies gather information from
customers by automated means and then pass it on to a third party.
The US patent office has informed TeleDynamics that it will be
granted the patent, causing concern among market research
businesses and others.
However, several critics believe that any attempt by
TeleDynamics to enforce the patent could be challenged on the
grounds that it is too broad to be enforceable. Indeed, some have
expressed the opinion that, on the basis of statements made by the
company itself, Teledynamics did not invent the techniques
concerned.
Despite this assertion, the company evidently feels that it has
been rightly awarded the patent and its CEO, Monte Sims, confirmed
its opinion that “it’s not an erroneous patent of any type”. He
added: “We will defend our patent.”
