XML Patent for Microsoft

malware inside a word processing document stored in a single XML file.

What gets me is that this is considered sufficiently novel that it's granted a patent. That being the case I can see I've missed many patent opportunities. I can't believe something so trivial would be considered worthy of a patent.

@tracyanne I agree completely. It seems like a lot of tech patents granted should flunk the obviousness test, but don't because the low paid patent clerks don't know jack squat. Same goes with prior art. A lot of stuff gets by because of lack of knowledge of what has already been done.

It seems like the USPTO has just given up... said that they don't have adequate resources to do their job right, so they just do a half assed job and figure that the courts will sort it all out.

The thing is that almost every example of XML/XSD i saw when learning XML was single XML file containing some sort of document plus XSD. OK so maybe Microsoft have injected their binary file formats as well, but including binary data was also example stuff. The multiple XML file stuff is way more novel.

Hasn't someone also patented the love story?

Maybe I should patend documents written on paper using various fonts and different colored inks and dyes.

For me it sounded like patenting the use of computers to perform computations.

Or how about a graphical user interface?....