This Won't Get Approval... Hopefully

[Ted Striker]

That's ridiculous.

This patent should be thrown out.

Talk about monopoly action, I mean I generally roll my eyes at the rabid Microsoft hate, but this is outright ridiculous.

If I was the judge, I'd rule something like, "this is a collective culture 'icon' that cannot be owned by one person. PS I PWN N00BS OMG BOOM HEADSHOT ROFL LOL!!1111"

[Provost Harrison]

Oh it is ridiculous and should be thrown out. However I know how these things can go and it'll probably come into force

[Urban Ranger]

Unfortunately, there are massive amounts of idiotic patents granted by the USPTO every year. My pet peeve is the perpetual motion machines - the current favourite variant are devices with total ouput greater than total input.

The US patent law desperately needs an overhaul - a sensible one, that is.

[Pekka]

I think I'll patent the internet. No wait.. I'll patent life. COME ON EVERYONE, PAY UP! You've been living free all these days... time for me to get what I deserve, everyone, line up and pay for every day you have lived.

[Bill3000]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
The US patent law desperately needs an overhaul - a sensible one, that is.

QFT

[Sava]

can I patent water?

[Theben]

Are they trying to patent all smilies or just custom ones that they created for MSN?

[Blake]

No... they are trying to patent smilies *transmission*. I'm not too good at reading that stuff but they might also be only trying to patent it for smilies measuring 19x19pixels, I assume so it's not a total monopoly of the concept but means that other messengers wont be able to use the msn smilies*.
* and specifically the smilies that msn users create for their own use, since no doubt those butt-ugly msn smilies are already copyrighted.

* Lets try again. They are trying to make it so if someone creates a custom smiley for msn it'll be inconvenient to use it with any other messenger. Since they can't copyright work created by users for "personal" p2p use microsoft instead wants to erect some other artifical barriers to try to "entrap" msn users. M$ is just being lame.

[DRoseDARs]

Originally posted by Tattila the Hun
Hold on, haven't smilies been around for some 20 years?


I think I'll patent the comma... Let's see how they like a cease and desist delivered to them, for unlawfull use of comma!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticon

Frackin' 52 years!!! A bit too late, considering MS wasn't even around then...

Patent the letter 'M', then the letter 'W' just out of spite.

[Theben]

Then we just need to quit using MSN. It's not so great that it'll be missed.

[Chemical Ollie]

They should patent "Ctrl-alt-del", it is a real step forward compared to prior art

[Chemical Ollie]

Patent US6368227

I claim:

1. A method of swinging on a swing, the method comprising the steps of:
a) suspending a seat for supporting a user between only two chains that are hung from a tree branch;
b) positioning a user on the seat so that the user is facing a direction perpendicular to the tree branch;
c) having the user pull alternately on one chain to induce movement of the user and the swing toward one side, and then on the other chain to induce movement of the user and the swing toward the other side; and
d) repeating step c) to create side-to-side swinging motion, relative to the user, that is parallel to the tree branch.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is practiced independently by the user to create the side-to-side motion from an initial dead stop.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of:
e) inducing a component of forward and back motion into the swinging motion, resulting in a swinging path that is generally shaped as an oval.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the magnitude of the component of forward and back motion is less than the component of side-to-side motion.

[Urban Ranger]

Nice spoof, CO

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Blake
No... they are trying to patent smilies *transmission*.

I don't see how that can work - smilies has been around for decades, and they always have been transmitted the same way.

Originally posted by Blake
M$ is just being lame.

Microsoft has been on a rampage to secure software patents in the recent years. Their intent is quite clear.