Microsoft Patents 911

[Seth Johnson <seth.johnson@RealMeasures.dyndns.org>]

> http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/04/20/136212.shtml
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/20/ms_emergency_patent/

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> http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/04/20/136212.shtml


Microsoft's 911 Patent

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday April 20, @09:30AM

from the thats-a-little-odd dept.

The register is reporting "'Microsoft was today granted a patent
for accessing data used by the emergency services'
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/20/ms_emergency_patent/).
They quote from the application 'In sum, what is needed is a way
to provide users with access to needed emergency information.
This should be simple from the user's perspective, so that even
very emotional users can find what is needed in a
straightforward, yet comprehensive process.' Apparently the
patent was filed one month after 9/11."


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> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/20/ms_emergency_patent/


Microsoft patents 911
By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco
Published Wednesday 20th April 2005 07:16 GMT

Microsoft was today granted a patent for accessing data used by
the emergency services.

"The present invention provides a method and system for
maintaining emergency data in a manner that provides
straightforward user access thereto via a displayed emergency
page (or set of pages) or other suitable user interface,"
according to the Patent documentation
(http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,882,706.WKU.&OS=PN/6,882,706&RS=PN/6,882,706).
"In one embodiment, the operating system or other suitable
components maintain a repository of emergency data such that
emergency type information can be aggregated and displayed in one
place."

"In sum, what is needed is a way to provide users with access to
needed emergency information. This should be simple from the
user's perspective, so that even very emotional users can find
what is needed in a straightforward, yet comprehensive process."

Of the 13 supporting images published by the USPTO, not one shows
a very emotional user. But the document does disclose a user
interface for at least one preferred implementation.

A UI for Microsoft's emergency services patent - click to enlarge

In addition to PDAs, Microsoft suggests that the system could be
built into rental cars.

Emergency services already use computer systems - and some of
these have gone wrong in spectacular fashion
(http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/A.Finkelstein/las.html). Up to 20
people died in 1992 as a result of the introduction of a computer
system for London ambulances, against union warnings. So prior
art abounds. As will bad taste jokes about rebooting.

But the worst bad joke is the patent itself. As silly-patent
watcher extraordinaire TheoDP points out it was filed a month
after the September 11 attacks in the United States. ®