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Cingular Tries to Patent Mobile Emoticons

6:20 am on January 30, 2006 | Category: Business, Law, Wireless

US wireless provider, Cingular, has recently made a somewhat questionable patent claim pertaining to emoticons.

According to their application, Cingular is claiming a patent over â€œa method and system for generating a displayable icon or emoticon form that indicates the mood or emotion of a user of the mobile station.â€

This would give them sole rights over any sort of dedicated smiley or emoticon button on a mobile device. Many have argued, however, that the idea of a smiley button isnâ€™t novel or inventive, and is quite simply, too simple to qualify for a patent.

The patent would also cover any kind of smiley navigation system that would display a selection of possible emoticons at the tap of a button. But this may also be too general, as other companies have created systems bordering on this description many times in the past.

Cingular may believe that they have a divine right to control emoticons on mobile devices, but when it comes down to it, the patent office will almost certainly disagree.

If the wireless giant really wants to pursue this, executives will probably need to redraft the proposal, and come up with a much more specific and original idea. After all, no one likes an intellectual property hog, especially one that tries to dominate such a basic and universal symbol as the smiley.

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