A friend tipped me to a new patent that Microsoft was awarded a few days ago. Patent No. 7925548 has a long and tortured description, but its purpose is pretty clear. It covers any type of app that was created to perform a specific task. Here’s the abstract:

A client portal that is optimized to fulfill a specific function. The portal can include a browser that is dedicated to performing a particular task, such as reviewing and purchasing electronic books. For example, to better perform the specific function, the browser may only be able to directly access sites designated by an authorized party, e.g., the browser’s publisher. Because the browser is dedicated to performing a single task, the user interface for operating the dedicated browser may be simplified to include only those controls useful for performing the assigned task. Also, the content available for access by the client portal can be controlled by a single authorized party, such as the portal’s publisher or distributor.

In case it’s not clear, this patent covers all the eBookstore apps (Kindle, Kobo, etc) as well as all the magazine and newspaper apps (NYTimes, WSJ, etc). It also covers all the retail apps (Amazon) as well as any streaming content apps (Pandora, Audible).

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