<p>Twitter co-founders Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone have obtained a patent for a messaging system that sounds a lot like the micro-blogging site the duo eventually helped launch in 2006.</p><p>The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued the patent on Tuesday, though it was first filed in July 2007 - shortly after the service made a splash at that year's SXSW festival.</p><p>The patent basically covers a way to send messages to people regardless of the technology they're using.</p><p>"While there is some ability to communicate between devices or message types, there are still significant limitations," the patent says. "There is no general method of sending a message to multiple users who may be receiving the same message using different devices or interfaces. For example, a user may want to send a message to three SMS recipients (all using different cell phone service providers), two e-mail recipients, and a Web interface recipient."</p><p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416840,00.asp">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/03/twitter-just-patented-itself/">Twitter Just Patented Itself</a> (Gizmodo Australia)</p><p><a href="http://www.webpronews.com/twitter-finally-patents-the-concept-of-twitter-2013-03">Twitter Finally Patents the Concept of Twitter</a> (WebProNews)</p><p><a href="http://www.itproportal.com/2013/03/20/twitter-secures-patent-for-twitter/">Twitter secures patent for Twitter</a> (ITProPortal)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=db0lMmTLzNo0nLMgqXo2czdjewrzM&ned=us">23 additional articles.</a></p>