Lucky nobody else is doing it... Oh.
Google has been awarded a patent for 'Determining and/or using location information in an ad system', in news which may send a shiver down spines within Apple and numerous other mobile companies.
The patent seems pretty wide-ranging too, covering everything from targeting to modifying the content of ads based on a user's location.
The question is what Google will do with its patent now. The mobile industry has talked up the potential of location-based advertising for years now, but 2010 is expected to see the area finally take off.
However, Google's patent could spell bad news for rival companies looking to build location into ads.
For example, Apple's purchase of mobile ad network Quattro Wireless has been linked to an ambition to bring location-based advertising in-house - the company recently told developers that their apps won't be approved if they only use location for advertising, as opposed to app features.
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With Google still in the process of buying Quattro's rival AdMob, conspiracy theorists may suggest that the patent could be used to prevent AdMob's rivals from offering rich location-targeted ad units.
However, with the patent only just having been awarded, it's too early to predict Google's intentions in this area - we sense it may become newsworthy again if Apple ever moves to make Quattro Wireless the default supplier for iPhone app ads.
