So it appears Microsoft is trying to patent, (copyright? Well, make their own. Where's a lawyer when you really need one?) emoticons, or smilies to you and me.
Hmn, this brings to mind when Warner Brothers tried to stop the Marx Brothers doing something or other and ended up on the wrong end of Groucho's brilliant, non-legalese (don't get me started) rebuttal, which as I recall rather hilariously involved questioning who first 'owned' the name 'Brothers', which was a nice case of the biter bit.
Now I'm pretty sure that Bill Gates didn't know about this, at least until now (and I don't mean that he reads my mighty blog... yet). I'm also pretty sure that the guy who reports to the guy who reports to the guy who reports to Bill didn't know about this. So I hope they will move quite swiftly and stop this nonsense right away.
It is pointless, greedy and will only benefit lawyers (don't get me started) to pursue. And I am sure Microsoft wouldn't want any of us to think of them in these ways.
:)
