Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Secures New Data-Filtering Patent

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), nearly four years after its patent application, finally received approval from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a filtering system that allows for modified delete notification through an entire storage stack, which is designed to improve system efficiency. The patent number is 8,255,641.

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) developed a system of filters that can enable a single delete notification from a user to be sent through the storage stack (hard drive, external device, flash drive, etc.) to perform delete functions on all storage in that stack, essentially eliminating the need for a user to specify every place where the deletion takes place. For example, a user currently that wants to delete photos that are copied on backup devices, would have to perform multiple delete functions on each individual storage device to get rid of those photos. But with this patented system, once implemented, a single delete function would delete all of the files and copies on all of the connected storage devices.

In addition, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) created a system where a delete notification can be modified so “protected” data in the range of the requested deletion is not deleted. For example, if a deletion range is between 100-200, but there is protected data at 125-145, then the delete notification would automatically be modified from 100-200 to 100-124 and 146-200 – either in one operation or two operations – in order to maintain the protected data on all storage devices.

The full patent application and description can be found here. In short, this would make delete operations more efficient for the user and would enhance performance of the computer’s hard drive by reducing the amount of memory usage to process a delete request.

The continuing growth of the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) patent portfolio in this cutthroat world of intellectual property is not lost on investors in Microsoft stock, including hedge-fund managers like Seth Klarman of Baupost Group, who had $214 million invested in Microsoft (nearly 6 percent of his portfolio) at the end of June.