Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Deems Emotiflags Patent-Worthy
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!"
They're going to have to fight Despair, Inc for the frowny-face emoticon.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
This is just an application, it's not a patent yet.
Microsoft patents stupidity. World governments cringe in terror!
"To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
This is so great, innovative, and quite amazing, it solves a common problem of not understanding the sarcastic tone of say... a post!
Those emoticons made from parenthesis and colons started on AOL in about 1992.
Remember Bill Gates's first book, which "ignored the internet"?
The idea that Microsoft invented any such thing is preposterous, and if the USPTO lawyer drones actually issue such a patent it will completely prove how totally clueless they are.
We always knew it, but this will PROVE IT. I actually hope they do, because it will bring to light the importance of the REAL reform that is needed at USPTO.
Even congress will recognize it.
.
One part says 'We're going to be reasonable about patents' while another department is patenting everything they can think of.
It's typical of a large corporation to do this, where one part of the company has no clue what another part is saying or doing.
Microsoft has become an 'old style' organization.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
"recently", "expanded". I don't think so.
:-( That is all I have to say about this news.
Give it time.
Like until Monday.
i-Curse Microsoft
It's not a case of "should", we all know the patent office thinks any patent with the word "computer" in it is novel and deserves the filing fee.
eg. A quality Microsoft patent Another quality Microsoft patent
No sig today...
They're patenting something that involves the association of emoticons with iconic images, also involving mechanisms like X-Face. It's still not new, it's still not their idea, it still shouldn't get granted, but if you're going to cite prior art, cite the right one.
I'm not sure what sickens me most, the fact that this can be patented or the fact that somebody out there thinks "Emotiflags" are a neat idea.
No sig today...
Say what you will, but:
:) and :(
1) "Emotiflags" is a brand new term. A search on Google only showed 5 hits, all of which were emoticon flags (as in country flags), not emotional flags like
2) One of the biggest problems people have with email is that it doesn't convey emotion. If the use of this concept becomes commonplace, it could mean good things for email. Being able to look at the emotion prior to opening the message will mean a lot less miscommunication.
3) While message forums have been doing this for ages, this is the first time I've seen it applied to email as some kind of header deta along with the to, from, subject, importance, etc.
And for what it's worth, the patent was filed almost a year and a half ago.
-David
this is basically a stripped down usage of X-Face, using just an "emoticon" to make it less obviously so.
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
Apparently fear, uncertainty, and doubt were already taken.
You underestimate the quality of patent applications. Someone holds a patent for a razor with five blades. Someone holds a patent for swinging from side to side. Someone holds a patent for assisting childbirth using centrifugal force. Someone holds a patent for a motorized ice cream cone. Someone holds a patent for playing with a cat using a laser pointer. If the patent system hasn't collapsed under 10,000 of these a year, Microsoft won't be able to dent the system.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Even if it's just an application that doesn't make their actions any less despicable. Destroying innovation of competitors so they can make more money, they should be ashamed of themselves.
-1 NO EMOTIFLAG
Your sarcasm wasn't spelled out for me. Furthermore, I'm filing a lawsuit for intentionally causing me confusion and emotional distress while trying to figure out if your post was insulting me or not.
They don't have a trademark. Despair, Inc. is a humor site, of course, and they joke about their "trademark":
:-( symbol left many in the field of intellectual property law stunned.
Quote: The decision to award Despair, Inc. with a registered trademark for the
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."
Emotiflags sound awfully similar to... Mood Stamps found in Lotus Notes mail client dating back farther than I can remember.
The government which is strong enough to protect you from everything is strong enough to take everything from you.
Competition is good and I'm all for it. However, taking advantage of a badly broken patent system, while at the same time claiming that they are working towards fixing that system, is simply one more example of the hypocrisy of Microsoft and is not an example of fair competition. If His Billness and Company are truly concerned about frivolous patents then this is the sort of thing they should not be doing. The fact that they have filed the application tells me that the loudly proclaimed moves to improve the system were nothing, but another marketing ploy designed to improve the company's image, while making no difference to the way it actually functions. Our only hope now is that the USPTO will find examples of "prior art" in its own emails as they seem incapable of noticing it in the outside world - as we've seen too many other times.
Just my $.02,
Ron
Impeach Barack Obama for violating the Constitutional requirement to be a "natural born" citizen to hold the office of P