Facebook Being Sued Over Like Button

You can bet Facebook doesn’t like this.

The social network is currently being sued for its use of the Like button, a feature which was patented by Dutch programmer Joannes Jozef Everardus van Der Meer in 1998, five years before Facebook’s launch.

The patents were granted as part of the functionality of Surfbook, a social diary created by Van Der Meer that allowed users to “like” each other’s content.

Van Der Meer has passed away. However, the patent holder –- Rembrandt Social Media, LP — has chosen to seek legal action against Facebook, as well as the company AddThis, for using the patents without permission.

"We believe Rembrandt's patents represent an important foundation of social media as we know it, and we expect a judge and jury to reach the same conclusion based on the evidence," attorney Tom Melsheimer, counsel for Rembrandt, said in a statement.

The lawsuit was filed in Virginia on Feb. 5.

Do you think the Like button is something that can and should be patented? Tell us your thoughts on the suit in the comments.

[via BBC]

Image via Flickr, Steel Wool