Microsoft Says Not Embarrassing SCO Is Patent-Worthy

from the get-rid-of-that-metadata dept

Thu, Mar 30th 2006 3:16pm — Mike Masnick

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.

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10 Comments

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Adam, 30 Mar 2006 @ 3:34pm

Does this work for me too?
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.
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- adam, 30 Mar 2006 @ 9:25pm
  
  Re: Does this work for me too?
  I like to file a patent for being an idiot
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- Someone on the West Coast, 1 Apr 2006 @ 12:19am
  
  Re: Does this work for me too?
  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
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yossi, 30 Mar 2006 @ 4:01pm

They are only doing this to keep any other company from makeing a program to do just this.
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- Anonymous Coward, 30 Mar 2006 @ 4:13pm
  
  Re:
  And why exactly do you think they would want to prevent that?
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  - DWBjr, 31 Mar 2006 @ 2:29am
    
    Re: Re:
    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".
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markbnj, 30 Mar 2006 @ 4:30pm

M$ data removal tool
Micro$uish already released a tool to strip all meta data from word/excel/ office files
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- Anonymous Coward, 30 Mar 2006 @ 7:27pm
  
  Re: M$ data removal tool
  And then it inserts metadata about with what removed the metadata :P
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Jeremy Boyd, 30 Mar 2006 @ 7:53pm

Interesting?
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...
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John, 31 Mar 2006 @ 7:47am

Thats why they're rich.
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.
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