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Microsoft had a 'priority email inbox' way before Google, and has patents to prove it
Much has been said about Gmail's new priority inbox -- all of it good! -- but it turns out that Microsoft Research has been working on similar technology since the 1990s.Not only is there a slew of research papers detailing how the technology works (it sounds very similar to Gmail's priority inbox), but Microsoft also has a bunch of well-targeted patents filed as far back as 1999!
Is this just another case of Microsoft being beaten to the market? Back in 2007 Microsoft Research released the Outlook Mobile Manager which seems to forward prioritized email to your mobile device. TechFlash also points out that some of the announced updates for Hotmail sound like they use the same Microsoft Research technology. I think this is more a case of Gmail simply being more nimble than Hotmail; a case of Google being less bogged down by bureaucracy and conservatism. I fully expect Hotmail will receive the same (or better) priority inbox technology in the next few months.
And once Hotmail has a priority inbox, I can't imagine Microsoft will continue to let Gmail use the same technology -- especially if Google offers the priority inbox to its business and enterprise Google Apps customers. But at the same time, I can't believe Google would spend time developing and implementing a service only to have it quashed by Microsoft. I wonder how this one will play out...
Comments
11
Subscribe to commentsmackattackSep 1st 2010 8:26AM
OH MY GOD, is hotmail still around......
isotrexSep 1st 2010 8:53AM
Nooooooo!!! Not another legal battle TBD! LMAO.
burnblueSep 1st 2010 9:40AM
Um, Isn't the Sweep feature in the new Hotmail an example of them being first to market on this?
burnblueSep 1st 2010 10:03AM
Well I guess it's not quite the same... Sweep is more like automatic filtering
Good JobSep 1st 2010 9:48AM
I'm pretty sure just having a bell or whistle that does the same thing as a competitor isn't enough to hold a court battle over. Code is what matters. If GOOG code is similar to M$ code then I think there is a real problem.
3tearSep 1st 2010 10:00AM
Patents are teh broken. :(
Riaz KananiSep 1st 2010 10:09AM
its called patent exchange.. ;) or money will change hands..
Daniel MilnerSep 1st 2010 11:30AM
From what I can tell, Gmail's Priority Inbox is just their spam filter, reversed. If Microsoft didn't have an issue with their spam filter, then this shouldn't be an issue.
Jason ClarkeSep 2nd 2010 2:52PM
Anyone remember Microsoft's SNARF email prioritization tool? http://microsoft.weblogsinc.com/2005/12/14/outlook-getting-snarfy/
new.writer9Sep 6th 2010 5:23PM
This situation has all the makings of high-profile patent litigation in the near future. The probable end result? Extensive negotiations leading to a settlement and/or cross-licensing agreement, with increased (though indirect) costs to consumers.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575461964181065980.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Weasel SpleenOct 1st 2010 7:55PM
The very notion of assigning different priorities to different email messages is sheer genius.
Clearly this is something Microsoft spent millions on, and they richly deserve to patent this incredible invention, the likes of which has never before been seen on earth.
One has to wonder, what on earth did people do in the past, before this brilliant concept of assigning different priorities to items based on their content was invented by Microsoft?
I can only imagine how difficult life must have been before this amazing invention. People randomly sifting through their mailboxes, uncertain of what to read and what to ignore, children going hungry because their parents couldn't decide whether to open their paychecks or their Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes envelopes?
The horror... the horror.