07/15, 5:25pm
Kootol sends notice to Apple on messaging patent
Unknown software house Kootol on Friday sent notice to many companies claiming that they allegedly violate a messaging patent. It targets a wide swath of the industry that includes Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Foursquare, Microsoft, Nokia, RIM, Twitter, and others all allegedly violate a patent for "Method and System for Communication, Advertising, Searching, Sharing and Dynamically Providing a Journal Feed." Unusually, Kootol doesn't actually have the patent and is instead acting on a Notice of Allowance that lets it act on the patent but still requires that it pay for the patent later.
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06/30, 3:45pm
FTC talks to Twitter over possible abuse in apps
Developers confirmed reports that the FTC was investigating Twitter's policies towards app developers. The exact claims are unknown but are expected by SAI to revolve around its temporarily blocking UberMedia's apps and moves that have prevented rival ad services or have steered users away from visiting third-party hosting sites. Concerns might also exist over Twitter's attempt to discourage the creation of apps that are similar to the official titles and its tendency to buy out competition like Atebits' Tweetie or TweetDeck.
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02/18, 4:55pm
UberTwitter and Twidroyd already getting fixed
In an unusually quick turnaround, UberMedia chief Bill Gross said Friday afternoon that his company had already made the changes to UberTwitter and Twidroyd needed to put an end to the practices that led to the Twitter ban. UberTwitter is now expected to become UberSocial, while both apps will avoid manipulating users' own updates and should resolve the privacy problems with direct messages that break the usual 140-character limit.
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02/18, 2:45pm
Twitter blocks UberTwitter, Twidroyd
Twitter on Friday said it had blocked two of the largest Twitter apps, UberTwitter for BlackBerry/iPhone and Twidroyd for Android, for violating its policies. The apps, both written by UberMedia, reportedly violated rules around the use of the Twitter API. Either actively changed users' Twitter updates to make money and were also reportedly responsible for privacy issues with direct messages beyond 140 characters and even trademark infringement.
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