Recently, Facebook issued their Snapchat clone, Slingshot. It is an impermanent sharing app that takes a lot of ideas from Snapchat and other smaller companies like Frontback and Look. Both Facebook’s messaging feature and their new, Slingshot, operate similarly to Snapchat with a simple touch in the middle of the screen for pictures and a press and hold feature for video. The problem with such a close imitation is that Snapchat patented their “Single mode visual media capture” over a year ago. Neither of the company’s have issued comments yet, but the patent sound a lot like what each of them has, stating, “An electronic device includes digital image sensors to capture visual media, a display to present the visual media from the digital image sensors and a touch controller to identify haptic contact engagement, haptic contact persistence and haptic contact release on the display. A visual media capture controller alternatively records the visual media as a photograph or a video engagement and the haptic contact release.”

It turns out that Facebook may not only be violating Snapchat’s patent, but also Look’s. Look has a patent pending for their idea to host a messaging app that requires the user to respond or send back content before they can view their friend’s message. Additionally, Snapchat holds a second patent titled, “Apparatus and method for single action control of social network profile access.” This patent covers the way that users interact with Snapchat Stories, only showing you content you haven’t seen before. This patent was filed November 8, 2012, just before Facebook designed, Poke (December 22, 2012). Poke was very similar to Snapchat and failed to gain traction, resulting in Snapchat winning out, particularly because they had a legal right to the technology. Snapchat was the clear winner both legally and in popularity. Now, Snapchat reports that one billion stories are viewed every day. Snapchat now offers private messaging and more public stories. This has allowed them to completely dominate the ephemeral market to the point that Apple and Facebook don’t even have a window to get in the game.