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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!"

13 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. pwned by User+956 · · Score: 4, Funny

    They're going to have to fight Despair, Inc for the frowny-face emoticon.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  2. Re:Grounds for patent? by Crouching+Turbo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is just an application, it's not a patent yet.

  3. In an unexpected move.... by stox · · Score: 4, Funny

    Microsoft patents stupidity. World governments cringe in terror!

    --
    "To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
  4. This is so great... by gQuigs · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is so great, innovative, and quite amazing, it solves a common problem of not understanding the sarcastic tone of say... a post!

  5. 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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    .
  6. recently??? by sholden · · Score: 3, Insightful
    [0002] Emoticons are graphical icons such as "", or textual representations of graphical icons such as ":-)". Emoticons have become very popular through instant messaging applications, and their use has recently expanded to inclusion in email messages. For example, a user may add a smiley face emoticon after a funny sentence in an email message. Emoticons are typically designed to represent an emotion or feeling.


    "recently", "expanded". I don't think so.
  7. My response... by TerovThePyro · · Score: 5, Funny

    :-( That is all I have to say about this news.

  8. Nobody should be able to.... by Joce640k · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Nobody should be able to add a modified header of an existing flag to an SMTP envelope and patent it.


    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

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    No sig today...
  9. Re:Prior art at Google Groups.... by oohshiny · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

  10. emotiflags by DavidD_CA · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Say what you will, but:

    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 :) and :(

    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.

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    -David
    1. Re:emotiflags by kripkenstein · · Score: 3, Funny

      the patent was filed almost a year and a half ago.

      Yeah, a year and a half ago, the idea of using emoticons was an amazing inspiration. Nobody used them then. I don't think they even had the interweb yet.

  11. MOD PARENT DOWN by Loconut1389 · · Score: 3, Funny

    -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.

  12. 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."