Not to detract from how stupid this is, but I once worked for a big American tech company who paid staff for every patent application they submitted, and again if it passed review and an application was filed. I don’t know if MS do the same, but it’s possible this is somebody coming up with a novel idea just to cash in.

I’d prefer not to speculate as to whether they know that it’s a stupid idea or not. At the place I was at there was a real split between the people cashing in and the people who genuinely thought that they had good ideas…