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Microsoft Deems Emotiflags Patent-Worthy

Posted by Zonk on from the cute-little-guys-hey-those-are-smilies dept.

theodp writes "Microsoft said you could count on them to improve patent quality. For an example of how they're raising the bar on innovation, check out this just-published patent application for Emotiflags, which Microsoft explains solves the problem of indicating an emotion associated with an email message. At the risk of infringing on the patent, this one Makes Me Mad!"

2 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Re:That started on AOL in about 1992 by ciscoguy01 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I was wrong.
    It was maybe 1972.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticons#Background_ prior_to_invention

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  2. Despair, Inc. is a humor site... by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 3, Informative

    They don't have a trademark. Despair, Inc. is a humor site, of course, and they joke about their "trademark":

    Quote: The decision to award Despair, Inc. with a registered trademark for the :-( symbol left many in the field of intellectual property law stunned.

    Suzanna Larkow, I.P. specialist of Larkow, Madley & Associates, said of the issuance, "This is a defining moment in the history of intellectual property law. To extend official registration to an emoticon, one who's common usage predated the existence of the trademark holder by several years, defies common sense and establishes a dangerous precedent."