Apple Sues HTC Over 'Stolen Patented Inventions'

[Regulas]

No better than M$. If solid competition arrives against your product and you can't beat them, sue them or buy them out then shut them down.

 

[Guest]

What if I use 2 fingers to flip off Apple, does that infringe on their patent?

 

[Parsifal57]

These gesture patents should never have been granted in the first place, in fact many of the recent Apple patents granted should never have been granted since they are little more than concepts that anyone could arrive at through normal thought process.

The fact that the current patent system is so broken that it allows companies like apple to thumb their nose at the rest of the world by allowing them to claim common sense as an intellectual property is pathetic.

I was never a big Apple fan (owning 1 Ipod Classic only), but their actions in attempting to become a monopoly and patent troll don't do anything to change that view.

 

[boredreader]

Apple is only now taking action because they fear their iPhone will fall to Android and it happens that HTC is one of the biggest Android phone maker.

 

[tayb]

The problem here is that Apple was awarded these patents. The patent office actually awarded a patent for undervolting a CPU? Assigning icons to a grid? Multi-touch? Sliding to unlock? And the list goes on.

How can you possibly be awarded a patent for undervolting the CPU?

 

[Torment]

Patents are effectively stifling innovation at all but the largest tech companies, who are the only ones that can afford a team of patent lawyers (and trust me, they are expensive). Not only do companies have to fear a bad patent being granted and all the legal and/or licensing fees that will go along with it, but they must develop in the dark, as their can be a lag of a year or more (IIRC) before an applied for patent is disclosed. Major patent reform is an absolute must, and should include immediate disclosure, much stricter interpretation of prior art/obviousness, a patent challenge process that is paid for by the patent office (easily paid for by patent fees),and a very short duration for any patents not in actual use.

 

[maestintaolius]

[citation][nom]randomizer[/nom]Patents are a stain on society. We could have flying cars by now, but patents won't allow us to progress that fast.[/citation]
People have enough difficulty handling cars limited to a 2D surface. No way would I want to add a 3rd dimension to that.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

here we go again. I worked the web for 10 years. It appears lawsuits are a way of life.

 

[randomizer]

[citation][nom]djackson_dba[/nom]You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I'm betting if it were your intellectual property you would not give it away for free. I don't know you, but I'm betting you are not that different than me in this regard. You have to make a living and giving your work away for nothing is not going to put food on the table.[/citation]
You don't need to give it away and get nothing in return. You can charge for commercial support. That is how Red Hat and Novell make money. Did you know that 75% of the current Linux kernel was written by people paid to program the Linux kernel (the remainder being volunteers)? And you say you can't make a living releasing your work?

I am not against companies claiming rights to a specific implementation of an idea. I am only against companies claiming rights to the idea itself, or a generalised implementation (which appears to be what Apple is bitching about). Knowledge and ideas should be shared and improved, otherwise humanity as a whole suffers as one company works on it at the whim of their shareholders. If an idea is not ruthlessly protected in court, then all companies can work on it, driving competition and innovating at a much greater rate.

Honestly, I don't understand why people are against the RIAA and MPAA making money taking people to court but are quite happy for other companies to do the same. The only difference is that the former two associations deal in copyright instead of patents; copyright that they are entitled to under the contract they made with the artist.

 

[Hanin33]

i agree with randomizer. if you can't make money doing something, do something else. don't whine and ask for protection from society... find something you can make money on and take off running. it seems like too many ppl that are for the status quo of patent law would rather have a golden egg than be the goose that lays them.

 

[totheshed]

[citation][nom]randomizer[/nom]Patents are a stain on society. We could have flying cars by now, but patents won't allow us to progress that fast.[/citation]

I totally agree. Funny though because last year there was an article on Tom's about a flying car that was out, and it was like $200 grand. I get your point though; patents are definitely a stain on society.

 

[Guest]

Oh God...Apple and Steve Jobs are biggest thieves in the world next to Bill Gates. Just shut up you greedy ass mother fucker and croak already! This is EXACTLY the reason I have no Iphone, Mac Book or Ipod. APPLE SUCKS!!!