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Microsoft Deems Emotiflags Patent-Worthy

Posted by Zonk on Sat Dec 16, 2006 01:03 AM
from the cute-little-guys-hey-those-are-smilies dept.
Patents Microsoft
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!"
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[+] US PTO Gives Microsoft Credit For Lotus's Homework 172 comments
theodp writes "On Tuesday, the USPTO granted Microsoft a patent for 'Email Emotiflags' despite ample evidence of a circa-1996 Lotus Notes precedent called Mood Stamps — sender-chosen emoticons that appear next to inbox messages. Among those seemingly aware of the existence of Mood Stamps is Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie, who appears to have fielded questions about the feature while at Lotus. While simply Googling for 'Email Emotiflags' would have turned up evidence of this prior art (including a Slashdot discussion), the USPTO came up empty after instead going with the more-upscale Google Scholar and patent databases for its search effort. Think we can count on Ozzie to do the right thing and give the USPTO a heads-up?"
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Microsoft Deems Emotiflags Patent-Worthy 50 Comments More /

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  • pwned (Score:5, Funny)

    by User 956 (568564) on Saturday December 16 2006, @01:12AM (#17266146) Homepage
    They're going to have to fight Despair, Inc [despair.com] for the frowny-face emoticon.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by plopez (54068)
      Technically, I think it is trademarked, not patented. 2 different things. I have no clue what the implications may be however.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by theLOUDroom (556455)
        Technically, I think it is trademarked, not patented. 2 different things. I have no clue what the implications may be however.

        I would suggest that a registered trademark would be pretty clear documentation of prior art.
        • 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."

  • In an unexpected move.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by stox (131684) on Saturday December 16 2006, @01:13AM (#17266162) Homepage
    Microsoft patents stupidity. World governments cringe in terror!

  • This is so great... (Score:5, Funny)

    by gQuigs (913879) on Saturday December 16 2006, @01:13AM (#17266164) Homepage
    This is so great, innovative, and quite amazing, it solves a common problem of not understanding the sarcastic tone of say... a post!
    • -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.

  • That started on AOL in about 1992 (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ciscoguy01 (635963) on Saturday December 16 2006, @01:20AM (#17266200)
    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.

    • Re:That started on AOL in about 1992 (Score:5, Informative)

      by ciscoguy01 (635963) on Saturday December 16 2006, @01:25AM (#17266228)
      I was wrong.
      It was maybe 1972.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticons#Background_ prior_to_invention [wikipedia.org]
      • Yeah, I was gonna say those were in common use on BITNET Relay in 1985 when I started college. I figure they've got to date back way before then.
        • With their writing system, is anyone sure that the ancient Egyptians didn't invent it? Squiggle-Sguiggle-birdhead-hook-smilely face...
      • Emoticons started in 1972, but emotiflags--replacing emoticons with graphical images--are more recent. I believe some of the chat clients started doing that first. By the time this patent was filed, many E-mail readers, chat clients, and wikis were doing it.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by ciscoguy01 (635963)
        As a patent holder myself, and having had to have discussions with the examiner from "law office 12" at the USPTO about my application, they are lawyers. Government employees, but lawyers to be sure.
        By the sounds of the guy's voice on the phone a young and inexperienced lawyer. Working as a patent examiner, causing problems and mischief for us all due to that youth and inexperience.
  • loads of examples [google.com] exist in the 1980s USENET archives. I wonder how they thought they'd get this one through?

    • Re:Prior art at Google Groups.... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by oohshiny (998054) on Saturday December 16 2006, @02:42AM (#17266582)
      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.

  • Sort of confirms "Microsoft Adrift' hypothesis (Score:3, Insightful)

    by plopez (54068) on Saturday December 16 2006, @01:29AM (#17266248)
    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.

  • recently??? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by sholden (12227) on Saturday December 16 2006, @01:34AM (#17266286) Homepage
    [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.
    • I think that means that email applications have started rendering the text smilies as actual image smilies, and that is a "recent" addition taken from its popularity in IM apps.
  • Is now mandatory.

    Check the number of patents on the back of that gift card you just bought as a gift. Fancy corners? Got it's own hang tag? All patented and litigated recently.

    The good news is I've patented emoting with ascii characters. :) ;) ;/ ;\ :/ :\ I'll be back for my royalties in 2007!

  • My response... (Score:5, Funny)

    by TerovThePyro (970487) on Saturday December 16 2006, @01:51AM (#17266374)
    :-( That is all I have to say about this news.
    • This is no time for sadness; it's a time for anger! >:-| (Perhaps I should patent Unicode characters for "pitchfork" and "torch" - muhahaha...)
  • the retardedness of the patent is clear, but this is also a bad idea anyway.

    it looks like it needs to be built into email composers/readers like a standard, but no patent-based addition to an established standard would ever get accepted anyway.

    and even if it did... what's the point? how hard is it to put a smiley face in the subject line? or to actally type "this is sweet". who's going to bother with "this makes me mad" tag when knocking out a quick "fuck you" email?

    argh, this patent is so stupid on every p
  • ... or someone else will patent it first !

  • Remember when BT patented the hyperlink? But they didn't just patent it; in a bid to become the worst patent troll the world has ever known, they actually tried to enforce it. [bbc.co.uk]Both BT and Microsoft lobby for software patents here in Europe, but if Microsoft says it is interested in improving quality and only applies for junk patents defensively, it is at least believable. When British Telecom does the same, as it did recently in its submission to the Gowers Review:

    Equally, we are supportive of all efforts

  • emotiflags (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DavidD_CA (750156) on Saturday December 16 2006, @02:50AM (#17266624) Homepage
    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.

    • Re:emotiflags (Score:4, Funny)

      by kripkenstein (913150) on Saturday December 16 2006, @06:54AM (#17267552) Homepage
      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.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by glwtta (532858)
      You understand the difference between inventing something and coming up with a random new word to describe something that already exists, right?
  • They also file patents on the emotions anger, frustriation and disgust since their products and marketing tactics are a primary cause of such emotions users should pay them when feeling those soon to be patented emotions.

  • yet another attempt to lock out Linux... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by advocate_one (662832) on Saturday December 16 2006, @02:58AM (#17266654)
    by patenting the processing and display of a custom header in the email header, they are trying to get an arm lock on preventing any Linux email client from using this header field to display the emoticon or to put it there in the first place...

    this is basically a stripped down usage of X-Face, using just an "emoticon" to make it less obviously so.

  • "Microsoft said...."


    And acts the other way....

    Very common tactic - mainly in politics: Put out the "word" - do what you "need" to do anyway

    A sufficient number of people read the "word" and are convinced that Microsoft is actually a well behaved company.

    Of cause that depends on your criteria. In extracting money from other's they are brilliant.

  • Countries have patent law to enable companies and individuals to recoup the costs of some venture. They safeguard the competitive edge that they have gained, and prevent others from merely copying and avoiding the venture costs. This protection is not given forever, but for a reasonable time over which the venture costs may be assumed to be recouped. Such protection should encourage innovation and wealth production.

    One of the first patents in England was for colouring for stained glass. Anyone who could m

  • To change a lightbulb?

    None, They just patent "Darkness" and call it the new standard!
    • This is just an application, it's not a patent yet.
      • Give it time.

        Like until Monday.

        i-Curse Microsoft [i-curse.com]

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Silkejr (856308)
        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.

          • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

            by morleron (574428) *
            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
    • Bored? or paid-off?

    • Like anyone believes that some Tool at Microsoft thought of this first. Seriously, does any Microsoft patent get an automatic stamp of approval by the bored patent examiner?
      They have tools at microsoft that can think? THAT is what they should be patenting!

      • Nobody should be able to.... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Joce640k (829181) on Saturday December 16 2006, @02:38AM (#17266554) Homepage
        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 [tinyurl.com] Another quality Microsoft patent [tinyurl.com]

      • I'll be honest not only did I fail to see the degree of novelty and non-obviousness I'd hope that a patent should be expected to rise to, I fail to see the utility for the user; an emotiflag assigned by the sender would quickly be inflated to uselessness. If the USTPO rejects this application then not only does M$ not get the patent, no one does, because it establishes prior art. if M$ does get the patent we'd better get ready for this:

        Dear Sir or Madam;
        I hope the Email fines you well as a serious m

    • Could it be that Microsoft is flooding the patent office with junk patents just to prove how incompetent they are so that the system gets revamped?

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by camperdave (969942)
        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.
    • So... does this go into that attachment that MS mail programs stick on all your e-mails? You know, the one that most mail readers ignore? I don't know how many emoticon crazy teens use Outlook....
    • The value isn't in being able to produce a product, it's in being able to license it to someone else who wants to make it in the future.

      Sure, they may not make anything off of this patent (since it seems pretty stupid, to be blunt), but it must be nice to see a new product hit the market and think "Alright, let's see if this violates any of the billion patents we own, and if so, we're getting paid!"

      Think of it like the PS3 sales: you can go out and pay $600 for a system not because you want to use it,
    • No.

      Even if they successfully make that argument, then I would imagine the patent would be annulled because of prior art.

      Then again, IANAL and I don't even live in the US, so I might be trying to apply common sense to something that has none...
    • Why remove the last digits of your Fido address? No one's gonna spam you :-)

      My BBS, running at a blistering 2400 baud was 2:252/204.

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