How dare Henry Ford use the idea of 4 wheels and an engine. Really. Benz should have sued him into oblivion.
OK, sarcasm aside, ideas shouldn't be patented. Actually, there was a time when you couldn't do that at all. What was patented was the implementation. The patent didn't protect smaller business from a larger one who just copied the idea, but it protected them from outright reverse engineering the exact design. It was the implementation that was protected.
Flash forward to the software world, and the patent system is ridiculously flawed. And it's only going to get worse with "first to file" next year.
I have no problem with Apple using the ideas that Android, Windows or even Symbian or BB came up with. In fact, many parts of Android came from the ideas on the iPhone. There should be no issue with that.
What shouldn't happen, is parts of code stolen to implement those features. And rarely does that happen. The most recent case of that is Google using the Java code directly in the OS, and Oracle suing them for it. Oracle lost since Sun granted Google the rights to use Java.
However, the patent mess that has been created by companies patenting idea is almost criminal for consumers. I see no issues with Design patents, but you shouldn't be able to patent a black rectangle. Nor should you be able to "software" patent acts of nature, such as slide to unlock, touch, multi-touch, gestures, and rebound.
I think many in the Android world get worked up and want to sue Apple over "borrowing" Android ideas. Partly because it's turnabout, as Apple routinely practices that type of behavior.
That's the the answer. The answer is to stop all these ridiculous lawsuits and get back to innovation.
