Microsoft Says Not Embarrassing SCO Is Patent-Worthy
from the get-rid-of-that-metadata dept
theodp writes "When life gives you lemons, make patents. Just-published USPTO documents show that shortly after SCO's intent to sue the Bank of America was inadvertently revealed via MS-Word metadata, Microsoft filed a patent application for a new 'invention' - the Detection and removal of information in files, including 'embarrassing or otherwise problematic metadata.' Yet another chapter in the strange Microsoft-SCO Relationship story." There are any number of stories about embarrassing metadata being revealed in Word documents, so it's not at all surprising that Microsoft would look for a way to strip the data. Of course, it seems like the ability to strip that metadata is already in Microsoft Word. Either way, it seems like a stretch as to whether or not such a concept should be patentable. It will be interesting to see if this application is granted.
Reader Comments (rss)
(Flattened / Threaded)
Does this work for me too? by Adam on Mar 30th, 2006 @ 3:34pm
I'd like to file a patent for good manners and thinking before speaking, based on the fact that I was not embarrassing to America when I was in England a couple weeks ago.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
by yossi on Mar 30th, 2006 @ 4:01pm
They are only doing this to keep any other company from makeing a program to do just this.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: by Anonymous Coward on Mar 30th, 2006 @ 4:13pm
And why exactly do you think they would want to prevent that?
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
M$ data removal tool by markbnj on Mar 30th, 2006 @ 4:30pm
Micro$uish already released a tool to strip all meta data from word/excel/ office files
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: M$ data removal tool by Anonymous Coward on Mar 30th, 2006 @ 7:27pm
And then it inserts metadata about with what removed the metadata :P
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Interesting? by Jeremy Boyd on Mar 30th, 2006 @ 7:53pm
It will be interesting to see if this application is granted.
Really? Because you've written a lot, Mike, about the USPTO's total incompetence in determining the worthiness of various patents. If this patent is granted, it's another in a long stream of dubious (if not preposterous) patents. If it isn't granted, what will be interesting is the PTO's reasons behind the decision.
If I were a betting man, I know where my money would be...
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: Does this work for me too? by adam on Mar 30th, 2006 @ 9:25pm
I like to file a patent for being an idiot
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: Re: by DWBjr on Mar 31st, 2006 @ 2:29am
I might have my sarcasm radar on the blink, but I was thinking they were shooting for prevention too. The notion that someone might come out with software that strips out embarassing metadata to show people, is something that could haunt MS in the future. People already have noted that MS word has screwed people that have radically changed the tone of a Word formatted letter, only to have the recepient of the document find the previous versions, still present in the document. Suddenly MS software becomes a liability. --Ok, well... maybe not "suddenly".
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Thats why they're rich. by John on Mar 31st, 2006 @ 7:47am
Make and sell software that has a really big fuck-up built in.
Make really big fuck-up removal tool.
Patent same so that only you can profit from really big fuck-up.
Brilliant.
People still buy this shit.
Not brilliant.
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Re: Does this work for me too? by Someone on the West Coast on Apr 1st, 2006 @ 12:19am
Nope, I was non-embarrassing last September so I beat you to the common-law 'patent by use' on that one...but thank you for playing :P
(reply to this comment) (link to this comment)
Add Your Comment