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Patent 2552008 Summary

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(12) Patent Application: (11) CA 2552008
(54) English Title: SOCIAL NETWORKING SOFTWARE
(54) French Title: LOGICIEL DE GESTION DE RESEAU SOCIAL
Status: Dead
Bibliographic Data
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • H04L 12/16 (2006.01)
  • H04W 80/12 (2009.01)
  • G06Q 30/02 (2012.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • UNKNOWN (Not Available)
(73) Owners :
  • UNKNOWN (Not Available)
(71) Applicants :
  • BEERCO SOFTWARE CORPORATION (Canada)
(74) Agent: NA
(74) Associate agent: NA
(45) Issued:
(22) Filed Date: 2006-07-07
(41) Open to Public Inspection: 2008-01-07
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data: None

Abstracts

English Abstract




A method for navigating relationships between people via a social network
created online via computer
software. A computer system online collects information about individual
users, and lets others
navigate it via paths created by users of the system in a social network.
Users sign up, add friends or
collegues, and others may browse their ecosystem of friends and collegues via
their user created web
page through direct links to their friends' profiles on the same computer
system.


Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.




CLAIMED:


1. An on-line system where users are connected via virtual friendships in
which a user creates
an account with their personal information, and creates a web page, then
connects to other users via
"friend requests" in which they can add their friends or other users to their
virtual friendship network.
The user can then post bulletins which only their friends can view and receive
the same
bulletins from their own friends. They can send email to their virtual network
of friends or
receive it. They can also access their virtual network bulletins via wireless
access protocol, or
WAP. Others can browse user profiles and search them according to their user
id's being
connected to the original user in the context of a virtual friendship network.

2. Searching is conducted by viewing a user's webpage and navigating through
it to view their
friends, and the friends of those friends' web pages and so on in the context
of a virtual network
of friends and collegues.

3. A new user profile is shown via clicking website links on the profile of
the first friend's web
page that a user visits.

4. All people on the software website are connected via a virtual friendship
relation in which
friends are displayed and hyperlinked to by other friends.



5. Software which facilitates new relationships between people via a friend of
a friend virtual
network through the internet navigated by hyperlinks.

6. A person clicks on the hyperlink of the person's virtually networked friend
and is taken to their
profile page with their own user created information on it. This in turn
continues. The person
may join the site via the software and request to add these new people to
their own virtual
network.

7. All profiles are user created with their own external content hyperlinked
or displayed inside
their profile, including background images, flash, video content, pictures,
and are prompted to
complete a form inside the software to detail their own personal information
such as marital
status, astrological sign, sexual orientation, and interests.

8. A user may upload, by way of http
(http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616.html) form
multipart byte transfer, in a web browser or web enabled mobile device,
pictures or video to
their personal profile to better descibe themselves to other users and
potential network friends.

9. A user may use a main browse function to navigate user profiles and to
search for others to add
to their own network after they have registered via a browse function. Such
criteria includes
characteristics such as age, sex, location, sign, and other criteria detailed
in the image of the
software to find new people to add to their network, and to view their user
created profile page.
After finding people via the browse function, they can then navigate the
user's network of
friends detailed by #1 and #6.

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.



CA 02552008 2006-07-07
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A social network is a social structure made of nodes which are generally
individuals or organizations.
It indicates the ways in which they are connected through various social
familiarities ranging from
casual acquaintance to close familial bonds. The term was first coined in 1954
by J. A. Barnes (in:
Class and Committees in a Norwegian Island Parish, "Human Relations"). The
maximum size of social
networks tends to be around 150 people and the average size around 124 (Hill
and Dunbar, 2002).
Social network analysis (also called network theory) has emerged as a key
technique in modern
sociology, anthropology, social psychology, information science and
organizational studies, as well as
a popular topic of speculation and study. Research in a number of academic
fields have demonstrated
that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of
nations, and play a critical
role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and
the degree to which
individuals succeed in achieving their goals.


CA 02552008 2006-07-07

Just as people used the telegraph and telephone to communicate and meet new
people. They are now
using the Internet to connect and make new relationships.

Chris Rondot originally created this software in June of 2005 when online
social networking in Canada
did not exist, thus we created this concept in Canada, and started selling our
social networking software
in September of 2005 under the Canada Corporation of BeerCo Software
Corporation.

DESCIPTION:
This software facilitates new relationships between people via the Internet
and provides them
with a means for reaching out to others that have similar goals or traits via
a friend of a friend virtual
network navigated via hyperlinks. You could equate it to ordinary people
having business cards and
giving each other business cards online in a virtual environment to build new
relationships for fun and
business.

DRAWINGS:
EXAMPLE 1:

A person visits the website and clicks on hyperlinks to visit profiles of
users. Those users have
hyperlinks that navigate to friends that are on thier own virtual network of
friends or collegues. Such as
a person would have business cards for their business collegues. This would be
similar to opening
some ones wallet and viewing their network of business cards or friends.
A person clicks on the hyperlink of the person's virtually networked friend
and is taken to their profile
page with their own user created information on it. This in turn continues.
The person may join the site
via the software and request to add these new people to their own virtual
network.

EXAMPLE 2 and 3:

A person may view bulletins from their network of friends, such as the virtual
version of a pin up
bulletin board, via their home page on the software.
These bulletins are only viewable by the bulletin poster's network of friends.
Bulletins may include images, text, video or other web media.

EXAMPLE 4:

A person may find new people to network with by using a main search function
detailing specific
characteristics such as age, sex, location, sign, and other criteria detailed
in the image of the software to


CA 02552008 2006-07-07

find new people to add to their network, and to view their user created
profile page.
EXAMPLES ARE LOCATED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES

Representative Drawing

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Administrative Status

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Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date Unavailable
(22) Filed 2006-07-07
(41) Open to Public Inspection 2008-01-07
Dead Application 2009-02-20

Abandonment History

Abandonment Date Reason Reinstatement Date
2008-02-20 FAILURE TO RESPOND TO OFFICE LETTER
2008-05-05 FAILURE TO COMPLETE
2008-07-07 FAILURE TO PAY APPLICATION MAINTENANCE FEE

Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Application Fee $200.00 2006-07-07
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
UNKNOWN
Past Owners on Record
None
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
Documents

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Document
Description 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Number of pages   Size of Image (KB) 
Abstract 2006-07-07 1 17
Claims 2006-07-07 2 62
Description 2006-07-07 3 75
Cover Page 2007-12-31 1 25
Correspondence 2006-08-09 2 36
Assignment 2006-07-07 3 87
Correspondence 2007-11-20 2 33
Correspondence 2008-01-28 1 19
Correspondence 2008-11-28 2 125
Correspondence 2009-01-26 2 340
Correspondence 2009-04-08 2 75
Drawings 2006-07-07 4 612