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The latter being illustrated with a picture of Steve Jobs as the Emperor from Star Wars. Classy.
Let's just stop the import of all computers and phones over Patent rulings. HTC and Apple should stick to their guns and deny imports of their products. Once nobody can buy computers or phones in the U.S. anymore THEN, just MAYBE, Congress will decide to fix this Patent mess.
Congress is part of the problem. Even if they fixed patents, they would just screw something else up. The checks and balances of the US government aren't working. We need a free market of governments, so that if we don't like one, we just switch to a better one. Competition would provide the check and balance, like it does for everything else. This isn't possible at present because it is impractical or impossible for…
When you have a competitive market in force...
Of course, that doesn't stop patent trolls (terrorist rent seekers) with no skin in the game, but at least this drama would end.
This is actually a pretty favorable outcome for HTC, as the reported industry average for invalidations during IP review is around 90 percent. This is one of the biggest problems with the modern patent system.
I wonder if it's actually one of the biggest problems, though? What are the average number of invalidations for other industries? Do other industries also suffer from "The Lodsys Problem" to the same extent as software? I'd also like to see a reference for that number!
My inclination is that, yes, software patents are terrible and should be abolished. Also, regardless of how 90% compares to other industries - it's a strong indicator that the way patents are granted in the first place is very broken.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Congress is part of the problem. Even if they fixed patents, they would just screw something else up. The checks and balances of the US government aren't working. We need a free market of governments, so that if we don't like one, we just switch to a better one. Competition would provide the check and balance, like it does for everything else. This isn't possible at present because it is impractical or impossible for…
Remember that government is the monopoly of the application of force. When you have a competitive market in force...
It's amusing that when there is a ruling in HTC's favor the headline is: "Judge Finds Apple in Violation of HTC's Newly Acquired Patents"...but when there was a ruling in Apple's favor it was: "Apple's Plot to Kill Top Android Maker HTC Nears Fruition With Win" The latter being illustrated with a picture of Steve Jobs as the Emperor from Star Wars. Classy.
It's amusing that when there is a ruling in HTC's favor the headline is: "Judge Finds Apple in Violation of HTC's Newly Acquired Patents"...but when there was a ruling in Apple's favor it was: "Apple's Plot to Kill Top Android Maker HTC Nears Fruition With Win" The latter being illustrated with a picture of Steve Jobs as the Emperor from Star Wars. Classy.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Maybe even Apple will realize that the current patent system isn't really doing them any favors, either, overall. I suspect all the big manufacturers realize that. They just don't have an option - someone is going to sue, so everyone feels they have to.
Then I assume all the big companies have no problem supporting Google to push for an overhaul (or dare I say the abolishing?) of the patent system.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Considering the increasingly vocal outcry of rampant patent abuse, it's also possible that tech giants begin publicly stating their position towards US patent law: it needn't exist (or one of the many alternatives that have been proposed). If the market can metabolize that, patent law reform isn't far away.
Couldn't the tech giants cooperate and introduce a system that benefits the top 10% and exclude the long tail of smaller companies? That could be even worse.
The big boys have portfolios of patents that they fling at each other until some sort of cross-licensing deal is reached, whilst smaller players just have to cross their fingers and hope that nobody decides to tax them too extravagantly.
I omit the possibility of creating non-infringing products simply because it's virtually impossible to bring any meaningful product to market without infringing on somebody's overly broad patent.