The smileys and emoticons used in e-mail or chat messages belong to the program used to deliver certain content...or at least that we thought. Microsoft, thinking that it doesn't own enough patents, has decided that the emoticon business has to be in its courtyard.


In January last year, Microsoft submitted a patent request for the personalized emoticons, which are used in online conversations.


The patent refers to the assignment of a specific series of characters to an image and to the correct display of this sign to the recipient. Obviously, this initiative is not to the liking of open source software developers, and if the patent is approved, ICQ, AOL and Yahoo Messenger will have serious problems.

The patent in question has not been activated yet, although the US Patent Office announced it last week.