Is Apple playing fair?

[abhijit]

News Item

Apple claims HTC infringed on 20 patents governing a range of technologies. It filed legal actions against the Taiwanese company Tuesday with the U.S. International Trade Commission and the U.S. District Court for Delaware.

"Apple has suffered irreparable injury for which there is no adequate remedy at law and will continue to suffer such irreparable injury unless the defendants' infringement" is enjoined by the court, Apple said in a complaint filed in the Delaware court.

Apple is asking the court to order HTC to pay unspecified damages and has requested that the International Trade Commission bar HTC from continuing to import the Nexus One and other phones into the United States.

"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in a statement earlier this week. "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own technology, not steal ours," said Jobs.

HTC manufacturers mobile devices for a number of third parties, but its recent introduction of the Nexus One for Google may be what caught Apple's attention. Like the iPhone, the Nexus One features a touch-screen, a built-in GPS, and downloadable applications.

The patents in question cover touch-screens, gesture recognition, scrolling, power management, and other technologies.

Is this playing fair or whining?

[SambaNeko]

I think it's playing "fair" in that if Apple has patented those things, they have a right to go after infringers (though I don't think this is about Apple's "rights" at all - it's posturing against Google, mostly). However, I think it's utterly asinine that they were able to patent things like "gesture to unlock a lock screen" in the first place. Seems like they'll issue you a patent for just about any rudimentary thing these days.

[GaryMazzone]

Can I patent pressing my finger on a screen to perform a function to open a window that lets me browse the World Wide Web?

That sounds fair to me. Then I can sue

[Hack]

Is this playing fair or whining?

It depends...

If Apple wins, then they were playing fair.

If they lose, they were just whining.

[abhijit]

It depends...

If Apple wins, then they were playing fair.

If they lose, they were just whining.

Ah, the beauty of democracy at work.

[Shaggy Hiker]

They suffered irreperable injury....but just for grins, here's the bill. It may be irreperable, but we can still put a price on it.

[NeedSomeAnswers]

I have just been granted the worldwide patent for "using a finger gesture to hit a key on a keyboard which then produces a graphical character on a computer screen"

So everyone stop Typing NOW! or i will Sue !

[abhijit]

They suffered irreperable injury....but just for grins, here's the bill. It may be irreperable, but we can still put a price on it.

They want to stop continuing to suffer. The only remedy seems to be a huge sum of money.

[abhijit]

I have just been granted the worldwide patent for "using a finger gesture to hit a key on a keyboard which then produces a graphical character on a computer screen"

So everyone stop Typing NOW! or i will Sue !

I dictated this post to my computer!

i also plan to patent it.

[Pradeep1210]

I will patent the characters AEIOU on the keyboard.

[GaryMazzone]

OK but I get to patent all characters other the AEIOU, that includes lower case of those and Upper and Lower case of any other character on any keyboard

[kregg]

There is actually a "yes" option? What's the point? Might as well change it to "no".

[DeanMc]

Meh, I don't think they are playing fair but at the same time they are only cribbing because the network operators gave them a schooling when it comes to what they can and can't have on there app store. It's a simple case of the big bully going after the little bully who then goes after a smaller bully. Most companies are at it. It goes to show you that all of these companies simply have to much money. It should all be taken off them and given to me

[honeybee]

Well, HTC did infringe on Apple's right to running only one application at a time. I can run several apps together on my HTC touch. HTC ain't playing fair!!


[Edit]
Funnily, I remembered going through a review of a phone called iClone. It's a cheap clone of the iPhone, and one of the website reviews went so far as to say the iClone is actually better value for money than the iPhone.
[/Edit]

.

[KiwiDexter]

They are perfectly within their rights to .... oh wait it's Apple ... whining big girls blouses in that case.

[TCarter]

Personally, I think that Steve Jobs realize his company is falling more and more in favor every passing year. Therefore losing profits, and will ultimately go bust.

Microsoft is the top, for the mere fact they managed to monopolize the market. You cant blame them for doing it right.

As most of us are software developers, we would all love to have our software be the 'Industry Standard'. Thats exactly what microsoft did... Apple cried about that as well.

Now, Apple has the iPhone. Neat product. But then here comes Google with the Android. A Even BETTER product (also, in my opinion).

Google is to Apple, as Microsoft is to Apple.

Apple makes a cool thing..then someone comes along and does it better.

I cant see how they would win for a patent of generic features. Such as Touch Screens...

Last I checked, there were Touch Screen Monitors for computers long before the iPhone. It was only a matter of time before someone utilized the technology into a phone.

Sure, they might of thought of it first (even though I dont think they did...as touch screen phones have been around for quite some time), but someone made it better.

A good example is,

Tires for a Car...someone thought of a tire...someone else made the same thing...put a different brand on it... But it still ultimately does the same thing.

[dilettante]

Ah, the beauty of democracy at work.

The judicial system is generally about anything but democracy. I'd make much the same claim about the patent system in most countries, but at least those are run under the auspices of an elected official in many countries.

I read Apple makes more of its money off phones and media players (and maybe iPads if those survive) than it does off trying to sell Macs anymore. My prediction is that they'll try to get into gaming consoles at some point as well. They see the big money in selling entertainment appliances to the masses.

I'll leave it to you to guess at their next product move after gaming.

Let me just say batteries not included.