Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has shared a new patent that allows social media platforms and user profiles to sell advertisements of any media type.
What Happened: On Tuesday, Cuban took to X, formerly Twitter, and shared a screenshot of the patent, held by Zumedia Inc.
It empowers the owner of a social media profile or the platform itself to sell ads.
“Proud of this baby. It’s a system to deliver ads, of any media type, from social media or any other software with a user profile,” he stated, adding, “The system lets the owner of the profile, or the platform itself, sell the ads.”
In a separate post, Zumedia, co-founded by Phyllis Jager and Barry Terach, with Cuban as a significant investor, also revealed more about the patent.
According to the company, the system, dubbed “Backskin,” allows online platforms to monetize the space behind member profile pictures. The primary beneficiary of this system would be the profile holder themselves.
Backskin.com was created to free people from economic inequality, the company said, offering virtually unlimited potential.
It seeks to protect users from being exploited by social platforms that have traditionally capitalized on recruiting members for their financial gain.
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Why It Matters: This patent is a significant step in Cuban’s long-standing interest in patent law and intellectual property rights. In a 2015 interview with IPWatchdog, Cuban discussed his views on the patent system and its impact on innovation.
He said that many entrepreneurs waste resources on obtaining patents before validating their business models, suggesting that a patent alone does not guarantee success.
Cuban also advocated for significant reforms, including the abolition of software patents or limiting their duration to five years.
When asked what major patent reform would give big tech companies less incentive to engage in bullying tactics, Cuban said, “The first step is to get rid of software patents or at worst change to 5 years. Let smart people compete rather than litigate.”
From Cuban’s perspective, patents are potentially detrimental to the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation, especially in the tech industry.
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