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IBM Patents Changing Color of E-Mail Text

Posted by timothy on from the how-very-precious dept.

theodp writes "Last week, the USPTO granted IBM a patent for its 'System and method for comprehensive automatic color customization in an email message based on cultural perspective.' So what exactly did the four Big Blue inventors come up with? IBM explains: 'For example, an email created in the US in red font to indicate urgency or emphasis might be mapped to a more appropriate color (e.g., blue or black) for sending to Korea.' IBM took advantage of the USPTO's Accelerated Examination Program to fast-track the patent's approval. BTW, if you missed the 2006 press release, IBM boasted it was 'holding itself to a higher standard than any law requires because it's urgent that patent quality is improved.'"

25 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. great ideas make the world go round by commodoresloat · · Score: 3, Funny

    Thanks to slashdot for highlighting one of the many great ideas that Big Blue has brought to our meager existences. It's things like color fonts in email that really put a smile on my face every day. I'm glad slashdot posts stories like this to remind us of who's behind some of the great ideas we use every day.

    To celebrate this remarkable achievement I am going to send all my emails today using a Big Blue font.

  2. But... wait... by Bazman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Can't we just tag the text with some kind of semantic markup, and then use some kind of "sheet of styles" that relate the markup to the appearance? Sound familiar?

    1. Re:But... wait... by commodoresloat · · Score: 5, Funny

      Perfect idea! I just *want* more of those emails embedded inside bloat html for no reason!

      <x-html>
      <!x-stuff-for-pete base="" src="" id="0" charset=""><DIV></DIV><w:fonts> <w:defaultFonts w:h-ansi="Times New Roman" w:cs="Times New Roman"/> </w:fonts> <w:docPr/> <w:body> <wx:sect> <w:p> <w:pPr/> <w:r> <w:rFonts w:h-ansi="Helvetica" w:cs="Helvetica"/>
      <w:t>I agree.</w:t> </w:r> </w:p> <w:pgSz w:w="12240" w:h="15840"/> <w:pgMar w:top="1440" w:right="1440" w:bottom="1440" w:left="1440"/> </w:sectPr> </wx:sect> </w:body>

    2. Re:But... wait... by Theaetetus · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sound familiar?

      Sure, sounds familiar. But that's not how IBM is doing it in this patent. Try reading it - they don't require any tags to be added to the text, or some "sheet of styles" to relate "markup" to anything. So, while your solution sounds quite familiar, it has nothing to do with this patent.

    3. Re:But... wait... by sopssa · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I prefer plain text because its 100x more secure than HTML with how its rendered. Theres various exploitable software and even drive-by-download exploits, and then you can use hotlinked images to track who reads emails (and spam them even more).

      Yes, my email client supports html emails. It even has it enabled by default. But because of that, I changed it to show text version to me before and just when I click it will show me the html version

  3. nice by sopssa · · Score: 2, Insightful

    IMO this isn't such an bad way to do it. Might even be patent worthly as noone is doing it.

    I myself really dislike stupid red fonts in emails or whatever *urgent* messages. I understand it by words anyways and it just makes me feel offended. But if its just cultural differences, then good job IBM.

  4. Colour in email? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But who would see colour anyway? Is this another Windows thing?

  5. Well I'll be dipped in dogshit... by j-stroy · · Score: 2, Funny

    hmmm, aren't those fat multi-color pens and multi-color typewriter ribbon evidence of prior art?

    hope they don't find out about using carbon paper (CC = carbon copy) to transfer a copy of the letter you're typing onto another document or i'll have to pay insane royalties each time i forward those dumb internet chain letters i send to over 9000 of my friends!!

    /fat freddy sez

    1. Re:Well I'll be dipped in dogshit... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      hmmm, aren't those fat multi-color pens and multi-color typewriter ribbon evidence of prior art?

      This should be modded +1 Funny, because there is no way that this post can be serious. Writing a letter with a multi-color pens gives you a letter with multiple colors. When you send it to people with different cultural backgrounds, the colors of your letter don't automatically change so that they have the same cultural meaning for your recipients as they do for you. Maybe such a pen exists in the world of Harry Potter. But in the real world, this doesn't come even close to prior art that anticipates this invention.

  6. Black is the New Red by skywire · · Score: 4, Funny

    I know when I'm emailing my Korean friends, I always switch from the default black to black when I really want get their attention.

    --
    Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
    1. Re:Black is the New Red by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So all your friends in Korea are old people?

      --
      Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
  7. Re:The (only) patent claim by j-stroy · · Score: 2, Funny

    some of my favorite typefaces are black.

  8. Why we think all or almost all s/w patents are bad by presidenteloco · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because most of them would take most competent software engineers about 5 minutes to think up themselves if presented with the problem that the patent claims to be a solution to.

    The programmatic solution is often obvious from a routine logical analysis of the problem and its domain, and standard modelling techniques.

    The examiners seem not to be able to have a proper idea of non-obviousness (to a practitioner in the field), when it comes to software patents.

    This causes areas of software work to be unreasonably closed off to any reasonable creative developer, and that's just a pain in the ass. So we basically say, look, if I could have thought of that without breaking a sweat just by using the standard analysis and coding techniques of the trade, then I'm pretty much going to ignore the "patent" on it, aren't I.

    --

    Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
  9. Re:Why we think all or almost all s/w patents are by EvanED · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Because most of them would take most competent software engineers about 5 minutes to think up themselves if presented with the problem that the patent claims to be a solution to.

    Sometimes, though, figuring out what the problem is, or even that there is a problem in the first place, is decidedly non-trivial.

    I'm not nearly as anti-patent as most people around here are, and this patent is borderline at best IMO, but I do think it falls into this category.

  10. Re:Typical IBM strategy by bipbop · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So you perjured yourself several times? Nicely done!

  11. Re:Why we think all or almost all s/w patents are by Theaetetus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The examiners seem not to be able to have a proper idea of non-obviousness (to a practitioner in the field), when it comes to software patents.

    So, are you a practitioner in the field of patent law with a proper idea of the legal requirements of 35 U.S.C. 103, or are you a practitioner in the field of software programming, with a proper idea of "obvious", as defined by Webster's or the OED?

    My guess is it's the latter rather than the former, and you're criticizing the patent examiners of - oh, gosh - following the law.

  12. Re:Why we think all or almost all s/w patents are by Darkness404 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But its also preventing the problem, imagined or not, from being solved. I believe that if software patents are allowed (and I believe that they shouldn't be allowed, but for arguments sake lets say they are allowed) then the patented idea needs to be in software produced by the company within 3 months of the patent being filed. If not then the patent is automatically voided.

    How many of you think this will actually be used? It won't be, it however, does prevent me from making a program to solve this "problem".

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
  13. Well, I'll be violated by a poopsicle... by guyminuslife · · Score: 2, Funny

    Isn't Harry Potter evidence of prior art?

    --
    I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
  14. Re: communication barrier by az1324 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hmm.. so that's why Kim Jong-il doesn't respond to our urgent messages.

  15. No more HTML e-mail? by the+pickle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does this mean we can expect IBM to start suing anyone who uses HTML-formatted e-mail? Because I think that would probably be a good thing.

    p

    --
    In Korea, long hair is for old people!
  16. Re:color me unimpressed by jthill · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I decided long ago that they're intentionally mocking the USPTO. Seriously.

    --
    As always, all IMO. Insert "I think" everywhere grammatically possible.
  17. Don't feel so good by SEWilco · · Score: 2, Funny

    This story makes me feel blue.

  18. IBM Employees are rewarded for number of patents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is the root cause, and is the case I suspect in many corporations.

    At IBM, you get something like $500 USD for a filed patent, something like that again if it's accepted, plus internal "points" which give you additional bonuses after a certain number of patents have been reached.

    In addition, promotions to higher levels are significantly helped by displaying a large number of patents.

    Finally, I wouldn't be surprised if the lawyers that decide whether to file or not a given patent proposal also get more bucks based on the count of how many gets pushed out.

    From there, it's only logical that whatever the execs say or claim, underneath, everybody's going to file as much crap as possible.

  19. Prior art: I'm part of the retro culture by davidwr · · Score: 2, Funny

    My VT100 monitor automatically turns my email, and everything else for that matter, a cool shade of amber.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  20. CSS by mwvdlee · · Score: 2, Informative

    IBM re-invented CSS.
    This is exactly the thing CSS was created for; visual mark-up based on semantics.
    A few tags around the urgent bits and your own little localized CSS should do the trick.

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