COPYCENSE

“According to recently released documents, Cingular applied provisionally for patents of shortcut steps used to transmit emoticons in 2004. Six months later, in March 2005, the company filed a claim to patent “a method and system for generating a displayable icon or emoticon form.”

“Cingular is the second major company to apply for patents for technology relating to emoticons, which are so common as punctuation marks in electronic communication that trying to patent them almost seems like trying to copyright a speech tic.”

Maria Aspan. Cingular Seeks Patent on Icons in Text Messages. The New York Times. Feb. 6, 2006.

(Editor’s Note: The Times allows free access to their stories on the Web for seven days before sending the stories to the paper’s fee-based Archive.)

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.