Microsoft Applies to Patent RSS in Vista

Cyvros wrote in with a link to Wired's Monkey Bites blog, which is featuring a post on Microsoft applying for a patent on RSS. As the article points out, this isn't as crazy as it seems at first blush. From the wording of the application, post author Scott Gilbertson interprets their move as a patent on RSS only within Vista and IE7. From the article: "The big mystery is what Microsoft is planning to do with the patents if they are awarded them. The sad state of patent affairs in the United States has led to several cases of Microsoft being sued for technologies they did arguably invent simply because some else owned a generic patent on them. Of course we have no way of knowing how Microsoft intends to use these patents if they are awarded them. They could represent a defensive move, but they could be offensive as well -- [self-described RSS inventor Dave] Winer may end up being correct. It would be nice to see Microsoft release some information on what they plan to do with these patents, but for now we'll just have to wait and see whether the US Patent and Trademark Office grants them."

Linux ?

[slashthedot]

Linus should patent both RSS and Atom in Linux before anyone else does.

Aw, but... but.....

[radarsat1]

Everyone was so *happy* when they decided to actually play nice and use an established icon [slashdot.org] for RSS.

Why would they turn around and piss everyone off?
WHY??

Oh wait... it's MS. Nevermind. Business as usual.

so hey.. does this mean Firefox will have to exclude that feature in upcoming Vista builds?

I can see it now:

#ifndef _MS_VISTA_ // patent crap.
Links.AddLiveBookmark();
#endif

Why the hullabaloo?

[WED Fan]

MS is patenting their implementation of RSS in IE. Not RSS. If you want to come up with a way of interacting with MS SQL server that is novel, you can patent it. If you want to patent a novel way of attaching a wheel to a car, you may. Remember, it doesn't have to be useful, the best way, or practical, it just has to be novel, or an improvement upon an method.

While I love RSS and all, Winer has a history of being a whiner in this matter when it comes to ATOM and RSS. Almost as bad as Reese Sellin was with his ill conducted projected [wikipedia.org].

Re:Who has Microsoft actually sued

[Waffle Iron]

Who has N. Korea actually nuked? Actual cases and not the 'OMG they might nuke us' screeching please.

Re:That is not patent for RSS

[mavenguy]

Correct, this is NOT claiming RSS; in fact it contemplates being used for Atom, too.

It's just providing a system-wide API for syndicated content, which might be any source, RSS only being one. Not saying it's patentable, of course, just that it is not intended to cover RSS itself.

Re:Why?

[oohshiny]

There is no such thing as "patenting RSS for IE only". This patent is trying to cover a lot more, and you can bet that they are going to use this patent, if granted, to go after competitors.

Re:Who has Microsoft actually sued

[Osty]

This is like some big bank with a bad reputation for being greedy and unwilling to work for people buying up mortgages.

"Actual cases and not the 'OMG they might evict us' screeching please."

Does the "screeching" make a little more sense now?

Pay your mortgage on time and you won't have to worry about being evicted. If you can't afford to pay your mortgage on time, it doesn't matter whether or not you have a nice mortgage broker who "understands you" or a big bank who looks at you as just so much $$$, you're in over your head and need to immediately start thinking about selling or declaring bankruptcy. You got yourself into that situation, not your mortgage broker who decided to sell your mortgage to Big Evil Bank Co.

The bank buying your mortgage can't change your terms, so you won't suddenly find yourself with a higher interest rate (or a different ARM schedule) or a pre-payment penalty where you didn't have one before. So no, the "screeching" doesn't make any more sense now.

Re:they don't have to

[Timesprout]

So you are saying your inability to cite an instance of Microsoft suing, or even threatening to sue is clear evidence that this is exactly what Microsoft are actually doing. Thats just fucking brilliant. Rumsfeldian logic at its best.

Ulterior motive / cynical conspiracy theory post

[chiller2]

I'll work off the assumption there has to be some financial and or control related gain to this or they wouldn't do it.

MS's market dominance will ensure Vista and IE7 will become the majority OS & browser rig over time this patented RSS aggregation / delivery API system will be part of it.

The patent states "the platform can acquire and organize web content, and make such content available for consumption by many different types of applications" so it would be fair to assume that over time more Windows applications will work with the feeds via this mechanism. I'm sure they'll do their utmost to make it nice and easily accessible through development tools, etc.

MS are setting themselves up as a vital link in the RSS supply chain; the toll bridge troll as it were. With sufficient install base and support by Windows applications there are lots of things Microsoft could do. This being /. I'm obligated to mention the evil ones I've thought of so far.

1. Microsoft don't own the RSS format and can't dictate how it's run. After a while of this mechanism being in place a new patented and big media friendly format could be introduced and promoted to the detriment of RSS. To the applications using the mechanism, and thus the end users, all this is transparent. MS then have a format they can control.

2. They could throw lawyers at anyone who produced a similar system for other operating systems.

3. They could add to this mechanism a way to make some feeds chargeable through a standard payment system.

Has anyone REALLY read the patent applcation?

[bytta]

IANAL, but this sounds like they are planning to make an API for "msRSS", that is: to embrace&extend RSS into a patented, proprietary, "common format" for IE/Outlook/WMP/etc... This would of course lock in their "email/web browser/media player applications", which could help in squashing Firefox,Eudora/Thunderbird,VLC and other "pests", not to mention that it could harm the real RSS because everyone's using msRSS.

How's this for a conspiracy theory?
Some key points from the patent, severely stripped:
1. ... implement: an RSS platform that is configured to receive and process RSS data ... to enable different types of applications to access RSS data that has been received and processed by the RSS platform.
3. The system of claim 1, ... to receive and process RSS data in multiple different formats, ... configured to convert the multiple different formats into a common format.
10. ... a set of APIs ... that enable at least one application to access RSS data that has been processed and stored in a feed store; and wherein said at least one application does not understand an RSS format ...
18-20. The system of claim 10, wherein said at least one application comprises an email/web browser/media player application.