When I worked for a tech company, I was involved in patent applications. Searching the US PTO site, I see four patents with the same name and inventor lists but different patent numbers:
- Nielsen, Thomas A.; Spertus, Ellen; and Drobychev, Alexandre. Methods and Systems for Controlling Access to Relationship Information in a Social Network. US Patent #7,716,140, May 11, 2010.
- Nielsen, Thomas A.; Spertus, Ellen; and Drobychev, Alexandre. Methods and Systems for Controlling Access to Relationship Information in a Social Network. US Patent #8,429,090, April 23, 2013.
- Nielsen, Thomas A.; Spertus, Ellen; and Drobychev, Alexandre. Methods and Systems for Controlling Access to Relationship Information in a Social Network. US Patent #8,489,516, July 16, 2013.
- Nielsen, Thomas A.; Spertus, Ellen; and Drobychev, Alexandre. Methods and Systems for Controlling Access to Relationship Information in a Social Network. US Patent #8,775,326, July 8, 2014.
Are these really 4 distinct patents that I can list on my CV and brag to my current employer about (useless as I consider software patents)?