Did MindArrow get the patent of the year (or even decade)? You bet.



I don't know why it didn't get more coverage than it did. Thinking this was going to be another patent on something only they were doing, I called over there.



Jay at MindArrow told me that their patent for delivering streamed video covers the process of delivering a small portion of the video with the message, to reduce the lag time before the message starts to play, then streaming the rest in real time. He said it does not cover technology that requires a recipient to press the play button to begin the video.



Most interestingly, it even covers software that permits individuals to stream video to their friends.



I don't think George Jettson's video phone is ever going to catch on, but streaming video to friends can't be that far off. Taking digital photos, then emailing them to friends is mainstream.



MindArrow's patent could turn out to be huge. Because it doesn't attempt to patent something that is already happening in the offline world, it may even be enforceable, unlike, say, Amazon.com's "Put it on my Tab" er, uh "1-Click Shopping" patent.