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May 06, 2006
Microsoft files for patent on curse words.
Well, not really. But I figured that headline might get all the anti-patent folks riled up. Turns out the Microsoft filed a patent application (Pub. App. 20060095262) in 2004 on a method of automatically sensing and removing curse words.
Arstechnica is on the case “unearthing” this patent application … um, a note to the writers over there – there really isn’t much to “unearth” – the vast majority of patent applications are published 18 months after they are filed. The use of the term “unearthing” makes it sound like y’all were doing some sort of Indiana Jones or Dora the Explorer expedition or something.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand:
A recently unearthed patent application originally filed in October 2004 by Microsoft could make television and radio broadcasters very happy. In it, Microsoft describes the use of an "automatic censoring filter" that can censor undesirable speech in real-time (or batch mode, for Chris Rock). Here's how it works [according to the abstract]:
The automatic censoring filter employs a lattice comprising either phonemes and/or words derived from phonemes for comparison against corresponding phonemes or words included in undesired speech data. If the probability that a phoneme or word in the input audio data stream matches a corresponding phoneme or word in the undesired speech data is greater than a probability threshold, the input audio data stream is altered so that the undesired word or a phrase comprising a plurality of such words is unintelligible or inaudible.
A quick check of the status of the application shows that Microsoft hasn’t yet filed an information disclosure statement listing all known prior art – I wonder if it will include a statement that it is “well known in the art that mothers have washed their kids mouths out with soap” for engaging in such “undesired speech”?
Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 10:00 AM.
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