Smiley face, you are doomed

Avid users of instant messaging, beware! Your habit is about to become very expensive. Well, at least if you live in Russia. Apparently, the Russian patent agency has awarded a patent on the ";-)" emoticon to a Russian businessman. (I wonder if they will charge me for this blog post?) Eternal Remont reports:

Russian businessman Oleg Teterin now claims he owns the tradmark to an emoticon:

;-)

That's right people. "Teterin said in an interview with Russian TV channel NTV this week that Russia's patent agency had granted him the trademark to ;-)." He promises to only go after companies, rather than individuals, which use the symbol...for now.

I would normally assume this is a hoax, but having lived in Moscow for a summer, I'm inclined to believe it.

(Hat tip: Veronica Khokhlova at Global Voices Online)