What is Digg?70 Comments
- BionicAntboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10:> = $5
:) = $200
:( = priceless - thenativeraver, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'm sick of all these patents.
I should patent or copyright my name,
then I could sue people who send me mail, and bills. - aggrorobot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Read the update at the end of the article...
"It has been pointed out to us that this is a patent application at the moment - the patent has not yet been formally granted."
Chill out people. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Ha! He doesn't know how to use the shells!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Next thing you know somebody will get a patent for all toilet paper. We'll have to use the three sea shells then, until that's approved for patent too...
- JimXugle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Next thing you know somebody will get a patent for all toilet paper. We'll have to use the three sea shells then, until that's approved for patent too..."
An Englishman Named Thomas Crapper (stop giggling) invented toiletpaper during the industrial revolution.
I'm going to patent Air. Everytime you inhale, you owe me a nickel. every time you exhale, you owe me two pennies for CO2 removal Fees.
I mihgt be able to buy a gumball finally! - NiLeS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Already been done:
http://digg.com/technology/Cingular_Beaten_To_The_Punch:_:-(_Already_Registered - dongiaconia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0^now....
grrrr - crash331, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0this same story happened a long time ago, except replace cingular with microsoft. it means nothing.
- drbroccoli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"this same story happened a long time ago, except replace cingular with microsoft. it means nothing."
You're probably right. But just the thought of trying to patent something so stupid and common place makes me mad. I had emoticons anyway. - poipoipoi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Um, they APPLIED for the patent. Learn to use verbs, please.
- ihybridora, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0why does the patent office/department approve patents like theses, it's pointless. They need some common sense and disapprove some of these patents that are just for stuff like this and others. For example, D. Trump with "Your Fired!" How are people going to fire people. There is "we have to let you go" but now we can't just say it to them like we mean it.
If this keeps going on, i might as well be like them and patent the word "*****" and get money off almost everything for anyone 18+, like shows and movies - maximo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is freaking retarded. A patent on emoticons. That's crazy.
- peeptophe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Unenforceable due to something called "PRIOR KNOWLEDGE"
- drbroccoli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It's like patenting words. I hate cingular.
- Corrosionx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This just goes to show patenting is a bad system.
It's monopoly on an idea, and monopoly is NEVER good. - bonzooznob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Can someone explain to me, how these are "MSN" style emoticons? Was I absent when MSN invented this? I was under the impression, that these have been around for ages, before Instant Messaging was abound. And even if IM's are going to take the credit, then at least back-date the app to one of the first... e.g. Yahoo, or before that, ICQ, or before that, mIRC, or.... BBS? ;-) :-) :-D
Oh, and Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticon
Has Scott Fahlman with the "original prior art", in 1982. So Cingular, you can stick the patent up your
(_Y_) ;-)
-----------------------------------------
19-Sep-82 11:44 Scott E Fahlman :-)
From: Scott E Fahlman
I propose that the following character sequence [be used] for joke markers:
:-)
Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark
things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use
:-(
----------------------------------------- - ursabear, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Whether or not it is an application or an approved patent, I dislike this kind of patent, too. So much so that I wrote and recorded a song about Patent Trolls. See the digg queue for a giggle.
- rhyno2000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0RTFA people.
As Aggrorobot pointed out, this is just a patent application. To the poster's credit, he may have submitted before the update was added. - laughterkillsme, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0WOW, that's like patenting "the" or vowels.
- Tennen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I lol'd
- modpancake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Well... companies can just make their own emoticons, can't they? There are millions of ways to make a goofy-ass grinning face.
Wouldn't the MSN emotes have be specially licensed in the first place, from Microsoft? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0***** them all in their lawyer protected asses, i say we should go back to ascii emoticons, not some crappy ***** that automagically converts them... anyway ive had emoticons on my phone for years now, how does one patent something which is in common usage?
- TRUEPATRIOT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0so do i have to pay them for this
>.> o_O O_O :) D: -.- - gamabunta, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Well I patent the numbers 0-9, so everytime they put it on one of their phones I'll charge them as I see fit. hahahahahhahahaahahhaha
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm sick of all these patents too.
- rorrison, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They can have "Emoticons" whatever they are. I'll just keep using smileys like I have for a couple decades. :-)
- jayf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0If this patent is granted everybody will move over to net acronyms so I think I just get busy patenting those.
- Mattman723, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Is forver as long as forever?
- treed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Okay.
How many comments here, and no one read the actual application?
They are not applying for a patent on emoticons. They are applying for a patent for *talking* *animated* versions of emoticons that people can use when sending messages to each other on cell phones.
Granted, it's not exactly a stunning leap of technology, but it is not "a patent on emoticons". - kakos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0RE: niles
Regarding the trademark of :-( by Despair, Inc., it has no bearing on this since this is a patent application and not a trademark. Completely different types of IP. - J_Omega, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Microsoft, I'll be sending you a few lawyers."
Against their army of lawyers? (Who drink bottles of scotch that cost more than your car??)
let me save you the trouble.... Microsoft has demonstrated prior art. - J_Omega, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0* Besides this being ONLY AN APPLICATION, they are NOT trying to patent the emoticon(s).
This app is trying to basically patent "one-click" emoticon selection on mobile-phones. (e, just like in your IM client, but here its on a phone! how innovative!
There are REAL, already approved, patents out there that blow this away ... humor wise.
The "Comb Over" is patented.... (#? I forget)
Here's another great (in a funy-sort-of-way) patent:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5443036.WKU.&OS=PN/5443036&RS=PN/5443036 - treed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Whoops. Followed the wrong link somewhere. The audible animated emoticon is an earlier patent. But this one is still only for a keypad button for selecting an emoticon to represent your status to your friends. Still not an "emoticon patent".
- LanceWalley, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hey, it's just a patent *application*! It'll take years to process, and there's a huge difference between applying and getting, or just getting part, etc. My partner and I applied for our first patent in 2003, and we're just hoping to get part of it, if any, and then there's the whole issue of defensibility once it's granted.
- J_Omega, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You can't patent "air" or the word "*****" or whatever the hell you want - it'll lose because of prior art.
(Plus, you can't patent language. You can copyright it though!)
You can, however, file a patent application for "air" if you so choose - and don't mind paying the filing fees.
It'll just never be approved... but hey! You might get it posted on digg / /. that you have a patent ON AIR! - jamalak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Traduction en Français ici : http://jakhiad.free.fr/blog/?p=11
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I've used several cellphones that have emoticons for SMS messages. I just hope this can be considered as prior art...
- AeonTorpor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm gonna patten the emotions "angry" "mad" "irate" and any other synonyms I can find. And if you get pissed over it, you'll get the slammer buddy! And for those who are "disappointed" or for some odd ass reason "happy", I'll get your asses soon!!!
- t3hX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I just patented selling crappy software. Microsoft, I'll be sending you a few lawyers.
- Osiriscky3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0:'(
- GRIMREAPER187, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i just patented the use of the right and left hand use to wipe my ass ---everyone in the USA has to pay me 34 dollars each time you want to wipe your ass using your hands
- tidejwe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0and somehow people STILL think that patents are "encouraging innovation" pshh. . . patents encourage stealing other people's ideas, and then twisting them slightly so if you get introuble with something else you do, you can sue other people for similar things and recover the lost money from the lawsuit through another lawsuit. Patents encourage theft, not innovation. . . or if innovation, well they may come up with a new idea, but then half the time it never goes anywhere because it's patented by another company and then the cost to use the invention is too expensive for anyone to afford and then holds EVERYONE back for decades... DOWN WITH PATENTS!!!
- dickyducky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0piss you, lawyers!!
- jo42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Great Goatse!
Maybe I should patent the playback of a gaseous rectal expulsion via cell phone before they do. - PseudoCyborg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Indeed, this is a simple Patent application. Keep in mind that Microsoft also tried to do the same. It didn't pan out for them.
Besides, there is far too much prior art. - J_Omega, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Ah ha! There it is!
The Comb-Over patent! :
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4022227.WKU.&OS=PN/4022227&RS=PN/4022227
(Although, this is nearly 30 years old... so the patent is expired. Feel free to comb-over willy-nilly!) - scutter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The absurdity will continue until we find a way for this to be an election-year issue for Congress. The USPTO currently does the exact opposite of what it was designed to do (protect the individual inventor). It needs to be shut down and all existing patents invalidated.
- GhostFreeman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Do east asian style emoticons count? (*´Д`)
- spamdies, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0⌐.⌐ yeah ok, so if i hot key an emoticon they can sue me, yeah right ok
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