I actually think their design here is quite clever to align all the likes on the right side. I also want to make the distinction that the patent here is placement/size/location that makes it unique, whereas Facebook's like is the physical design of their icon and animation. Other people can do a like button too, it just can't look like Facebook's which also has a little cuff to it. Also, it's not really novel anymore, but back then "Liking" was kind of a new thing.