Apple suing HTC

[Caloy]

I think all this mess is because they allow such general patents. It shouldn't be that generalized. Like if you have a software that you patent, how it was exactly written could be patented, but with some degree of variations to such programming should be allowed. If you think about copy rights for books, it should exactly be how it should be with patents. One example would be, you can have the pinch to zoom app but if it was written in a different way (think about flowcharts), then it should be allowed. This promote not only innovation but also prevents monopoly for such general (vague) patents.

 

[markdmac]

I agree with you Caloy. Patents need to be specific. I'm all for protecting intellectual property, it can take a lot of money to develop something, but that protection can't prevent someone from achieving the same results in a different way.

 

[HadouGhost]

 

[bbrosen]

Funny how just now everyone starts screaming about patents. We have had patents for a very long time, but only when it hits home do people complain and cry.

No one said a word back when these were filed, how come? Look, I love Apple products and have an HTC Hero, but fair is fair. These were legally patented years ago, and Apple, specifically jobs, said that they"Patented the Hell out of this thing" the very first time he held the iphone up. Seems this is just an excuse to pile onto another "evil" corporation. But hey it's alright, your kids will be screaming from the rooftop the "evils" of google, htc and will call for the companies and android to fail, apple is just the "evil corp du jour" right now.

 

[Slug]

Funny how just now everyone starts screaming about patents. We have had patents for a very long time, but only when it hits home do people complain and cry.

The main bone of contention here is the perceived generality of the patents in question, not the veracity of patents in general.

 

[grainysand]

bawww I have buyer's remorse can someone get me an iPhone

Fixed. Your crying fits are getting tiresome.

 

[HadouGhost]

lol

the point is that the patents in question are complete crap and vague.

i just patented the letter E on keyboards. please refrain from using and making keyboards with this letter, thanks.

 

[mrmojoz]

lol

the point is that the patents in question are complete crap and vague.

i just patented the letter E on keyboards. please refrain from using and making keyboards with this letter, thanks.

Patenting the letter "E" would be very specific so not a good example. What Apple did was get patents for the concept of having individuals keys on a keyboard. They didn't invent it, the concept is common knowledge but by golly they'll sue you if you get in their way.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

Patenting the letter "E" would be very specific so not a good example. What Apple did was get patents for the concept of having individuals keys on a keyboard. They didn't invent it, the concept is common knowledge but by golly they'll sue you if you get in their way.

But they did patent using a finger gesture, more particularly, a swipe across the screen. That should never have been allowed through, that would be like patenting using an up and down motion to type.

 

[bbrosen]

Fixed. Your crying fits are getting tiresome.

i still have my iphone, just not activated anymore.and the only crying i see is about some company who patented somethings years ago and no one said a word about it then...sorry google is late to the game.

yes, I am sorry I spent my money on the Hero. I needed a phone that could multitask, not roll over and die. This anti apple is getting old. how about working to make android better and you might have more people on the android team.

I have been working like a fiend on my phone to get this thing to work, for 3 months. i want to love the hero as well as android, I really do, but when the darn thing don't work, it's hard to feel the love. combine that with no carrier, htc or Google support it does not bode well for me, the end user.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

Again, many of the patents are very recent, too recent in fact. HTC was already using the technologies in question when the patent was filed.

And the object based gui patent didn't hold water when they tried to sue MS in the 90's, why should it now?

As far as anything patent wise dealing with touchscreen, that existed before Apple patented it as well. Most of these are a case of a company filing applications on things they did not develop because they found out no one else had. Where in the spirit or intent of the patent law is this right?

I am all for reasonable and justifiable patents, these are not that. The reason many of these did not get denied is because there is an objection process, and if no one is looking when it goes up for publication there is no objection. Personally I feel the applicant should have to provide rock solid proof of the uniqueness of whatever is being patented and it is not something already in existence.

 

[IOWA]

I'm going to patten "a method for speaking into a portable device and transmitting voice over digital carrier signals to another device".

In all seriousness, apple didn't invent much of anything, outside pinch to zoom, and everything else they stole from everyone else.

 

[Anthony1]

Apple are playing a very dangerous game here.

If Google sees this as a malicious attempt to Hinder Android then they may be tempted to pull all support for the iPhone in future. No more Google Maps, Google streetview, Google navigation etc. If that happens then the iPhone is history.

I ran this potential scenario past a few of my iPhone owning, Apple fan, colleagues and even they admitted they'd switch to Android if that happened.

Cool hardware only goes so far. In the information age it's the information itself that's all important...and Google has way, way more of that than Apple does.

 

[trekgraham]

Maybe Google can patent the finger gesture involving the middle finger, and then give it to apple at cost hehehe

 

[Bramsy]

i still have my iphone - go back to it if you desire
yes, I am sorry I spent my money on the Hero - sell it then I needed a phone that could multitask, not roll over and die. This anti apple is getting old. how about working to make android better and you might have more people on the android team. how about you give Android as much time as you have given Apple, then compare

I have been working like a fiend on my phone to get this thing to work, for 3 months.3 months to get a phone working? perhaps the iPhone is more suitable for your needs. i want to love the hero as well as android, I really do, but when the darn thing don't work, it's hard to feel the love. combine that with no carrier, htc or Google support it does not bode well for me, the end user. i kinda smell something trollish

i typed a ton more but deleted it. i didnt want to be mean or feel like im bullying. dont like it? do something to make you happy then... are you seriously that attached to your phone that it is a source of unhappiness in your life? DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT rather then kinda whine about it on an internet forum.

sorry it that was rude or mean

 

[Bramsy]

Maybe Google can patent the finger gesture involving the middle finger, and then give it to apple at cost hehehe

my new facebook status!

 

[billsmed]

i typed a ton more but deleted it. i didnt want to be mean or feel like im bullying. dont like it? do something to make you happy then... are you seriously that attached to your phone that it is a source of unhappiness in your life? DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT rather then kinda whine about it on an internet forum.

sorry it that was rude or mean

Bamsy, I don't think you're being rude or mean at all. Actually, I think your comments were pretty humorous. It's the other guy that was being rude. I've never been in an iPhone forum, but if I even did go in one, I'd never leave anti-iPhone comments and brag about Android.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

i still have my iphone, just not activated anymore.and the only crying i see is about some company who patented somethings years ago and no one said a word about it then...sorry google is late to the game.

yes, I am sorry I spent my money on the Hero. I needed a phone that could multitask, not roll over and die. This anti apple is getting old. how about working to make android better and you might have more people on the android team.

I have been working like a fiend on my phone to get this thing to work, for 3 months. i want to love the hero as well as android, I really do, but when the darn thing don't work, it's hard to feel the love. combine that with no carrier, htc or Google support it does not bode well for me, the end user.

Many of the patents are new, too new in fact. This was a case of Apple filing a patent for something already in widespread use, it is called "Patent Whoring".

As for the older patents let's pick one. I've said it in other posts, the object based gui doesn't hold up, they have already been slapped down on that when they tried to go after MS in the 90's.

I'll freely admit to being anti-Apple, but that dates far back before the iPhone was ever even a dream. Apple owners are the first to point out that MS is a big evil corporation, but they refuse to look in their own backyard. Apple is one of the worst companies when it comes to openness and fair market practices on the planet! And until the Mac's started shipping with Intel processors they were nothing more than overpriced toys, now they are just overpriced computers. Add to that Apple refuses to listen to customer requests about the iPhone, yeah Job's is really looking out for the customer.

Job's is running scared, he is attacking the single largest manufacturer of Android phones which represent a threat to his precious iPhone instead of doing product development and trying to top what is coming out against it.

As far as your Hero, I really can't understand what you mean by "working like a fiend on my phone to get this thing to work", is your phone broken? Other than a few bugs here and there that I remedied quite easily after a little research here and elsewhere and the obvious lack of real sync capability with Outlook (this is a problem with any non-WinMo phone apparently) my phone is working perfectly.

 

[Fonseca]

I'm going to patten "a method for speaking into a portable device and transmitting voice over digital carrier signals to another device".

In all seriousness, apple didn't invent much of anything, outside pinch to zoom, and everything else they stole from everyone else.

MS Surface did pinch to zoom first.

 

[grainysand]

Apple owners are the first to point out that MS is a big evil corporation, but they refuse to look in their own backyard.

Ding ding ding. Apple users tend to mindlessly hate Microsoft "just because."

As far as your Hero, I really can't understand what you mean by "working like a fiend on my phone to get this thing to work", is your phone broken? Other than a few bugs here and there that I remedied quite easily after a little research here and elsewhere and the obvious lack of real sync capability with Outlook (this is a problem with any non-WinMo phone apparently) my phone is working perfectly.

Look at his posts. He's been complaining about his Hero for a while. Either his unit is "special" or he's... well, or he is special.

 

[IOWA]

On the contrary, when I owned an iPhone, it made calling people seem fun again. Using my Droid Eris' phone app is opening up a whole new box of lag and pain. HTC's texting app could use a bit of work and optimization as well, especially with regards to attaching images and such. And the Bluetooth stack is unreliable and glitchy compared to the iPhone's.

However, I love Android and the rest of Sense UI more than enough to overlook that.

On-topic:
Software patents are stupid, and horrible for "innovation." Apple is good at polishing, that's what they do, find or take an idea that has potential and spit-shine the crap out of it till it sells, and it sells millions.

I don't get how Apple can do something as great as WebKit...they took KHTML and polished it, optimized it, and released their developments back into the Open Source development stream, and now every good browser uses WebKit...

and then do a 180

 

[IOWA]

Apple are playing a very dangerous game here.

If Google sees this as a malicious attempt to Hinder Android then they may be tempted to pull all support for the iPhone in future. No more Google Maps, Google streetview, Google navigation etc. If that happens then the iPhone is history.

I ran this potential scenario past a few of my iPhone owning, Apple fan, colleagues and even they admitted they'd switch to Android if that happened.

Cool hardware only goes so far. In the information age it's the information itself that's all important...and Google has way, way more of that than Apple does.

But the thing is, apple hardware isn't great, it's never been great. Their video cards are substandard, processors are terrible, and their hardware is just overall lacking.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

Since when is making phone calls on ATT fun? You mean the 40% of the time the call actually goes through?

I guess it is just like a lot of games, there is fun in repetition!

 

[IOWA]

A bunch of news sites have been playing up a minor item in a Deutsche Bank note to clients about how Apple has a lot more patents than Google or HTC. I have to say, this is one of the most meaningless bits of data out there, and it's getting way too much attention for its import. First of all, it looks like the report counted overall patents -- not even patents just in the spaces where these companies overlap. Second, the number of patents one holds is absolutely meaningless when it comes to actually being able to enforce the patents.

More troubling is the report's conclusion:
"While litigation appears to be an increasingly common cost of doing business," he concludes, "we view Apple's willingness to aggressively defend its patent portfolio favorably and welcome the defense of its IP."
Historically, this is generally not a good sign. It's usually a sign that a company has run into an innovation stumbling block, and doesn't think it can really continue to innovate at the pace the market is expecting, so it seeks to hold back competitors and pump up revenue through litigation, rather than innovation. A smart research report would note that breaking out the offensive patent lawsuits is generally a warning sign. But, then again, this is a research report that thinks the overall number of patents a tech company has is a meaningful metric.

Pointless Stats: Number Of Patents Held By Apple, Google And HTC | Techdirt

 

[Tyler]

[Mod note: moved from ***Official HTC Incredible Thread***]

Do you think this could mean bad news for HTC or Android? HTC is a Taiwenese company...


Obama to 'aggressively protect' intellectual property | Media Maverick - CNET News


But Apple still makes its products in China too doesn't it?

Im referring mainly to this part:

"We're going to aggressively protect our intellectual property," Obama said. "Our single greatest asset is the innovation and the ingenuity and creativity of the American people...It is essential to our prosperity and it will only become more so in this century. But it's only a competitive advantage if our companies know that someone else can't just steal that idea and duplicate it with cheaper inputs and labor."