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Apple wins ban of HTC devices at US International Trade Commission

theverge.com

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Re: Apple wins ban of HTC devices at US International Trade Commission

#11

Post by viraptor »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #7

Sigh, emotionally this sort of crap from Apple just really irritates me. Sure software patents are stupid, but does it strike anyone else that this Android Jihad by Apple is doing more damage to their corporate brand than help? I should have realized during the 'look and feel' wars that its part of their DNA.

Does it do more damage than help? I don't know... How many Apple customers even know about the patent wars? How many care? How many are extreme Apple fanboys who will argue that Apple invented everything, starting with the phone itself?

It's only people who actually care about news like that who will see this as a bad thing. The rest get a new, shiny toy every year or so and are happy...

Re: Apple wins ban of HTC devices at US International Trade Commission

#13

Post by jacobolus »

ddlatham wrote: post #2

Here's the patent in question, #5,946,647, filed Feb. 1, 1996: http://www.google.com/patents/US5946647 "A system and method causes a computer to detect and perform actions on structures identified in computer data... uses a pattern analysis unit ... to detect structures in the data, and links relevant actions to the detected structures. .... Thus, the user interface can present and enable selection of the detected st…

The best example of prior art that I know is Simson Garfinkel’s SBook, originally developed in 1991. Any steps required to get from Simson’s idea to Apple’s version seem (conceptually) trivial and obvious.

http://simson.net/ref/sbook5/

It’s remarkable to me how much better SBook is at dealing with info like address book entries than anything mainstream today, 20 years later.

Re: Apple wins ban of HTC devices at US International Trade Commission

#14

Post by Steko »

untog wrote: post #3

And it goes back, and forth, and back, and forth, and In other news, "Samsung adds four more complaints to its German patent offensive against Apple": http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/19/2646835/samsung-apple-ger... I would love for someone at one of these companies to explain how on earth this benefits the consumer.

The pro-IP argument from Apple's point of view goes something like this:

In a world where everyone just copies everyone else freely (e.g. the desktop PC world) there is/would be much less innovation.

The investments that go into many breakthrough products (iphone, ipad) are made with the understanding that IP protections are in place to prevent copycats from waltzing in and taking all the benefits later on.

Take away those protections and the initial investments aren't made in many cases and the customer sees far fewer breakthrough products.

Re: Apple wins ban of HTC devices at US International Trade Commission

#15

Post by chc »

viraptor wrote: post #5
ddlatham wrote: post #2

Here's the patent in question, #5,946,647, filed Feb. 1, 1996: http://www.google.com/patents/US5946647 "A system and method causes a computer to detect and perform actions on structures identified in computer data... uses a pattern analysis unit ... to detect structures in the data, and links relevant actions to the detected structures. .... Thus, the user interface can present and enable selection of the detected st…

Wasn't explorer in windows 95 (can't remember what 3.X did for context menus) a prior art for first fragment? Right-click "my computer" you get one context menu, right-click ".bat" (see - pattern analysis) you get another, right-click ".doc" ...

I don't think so. You aren't acting on the ".bat", you're acting on the file itself. The patented technology has more in common with face detection algorithms than right-click menus.

Re: Apple wins ban of HTC devices at US International Trade Commission

#16

Post by brendans »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #7

Sigh, emotionally this sort of crap from Apple just really irritates me. Sure software patents are stupid, but does it strike anyone else that this Android Jihad by Apple is doing more damage to their corporate brand than help? I should have realized during the 'look and feel' wars that its part of their DNA.

"jihad"... Apple has indeed an islamic mindset : they have a prophet you cannot criticise without violent reactions (like being permbanned from forums).

Re: Apple wins ban of HTC devices at US International Trade Commission

#18

Post by stephend »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #7

Sigh, emotionally this sort of crap from Apple just really irritates me. Sure software patents are stupid, but does it strike anyone else that this Android Jihad by Apple is doing more damage to their corporate brand than help? I should have realized during the 'look and feel' wars that its part of their DNA.

"jihad"... Apple has indeed an islamic mindset : they have a prophet you cannot criticize without violent reactions (like being permbanned from forums).

Re: Apple wins ban of HTC devices at US International Trade Commission

#19

Post by jrockway »

This feature is largely useless, anyway. An example is, I receive text messages from Amazon when an order ships and is delivered. The "system and method to cause a computer to detect and perform actions" then highlights the tracking number and order number as though they are phone numbers, which it immediately dials when your finger comes nearby. This is very annoying because they are not phone numbers, they are tracking numbers. Lacking this feature will make me like my phone more.

Re: Apple wins ban of HTC devices at US International Trade Commission

#20

Post by georgemcbay »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #7

Sigh, emotionally this sort of crap from Apple just really irritates me. Sure software patents are stupid, but does it strike anyone else that this Android Jihad by Apple is doing more damage to their corporate brand than help? I should have realized during the 'look and feel' wars that its part of their DNA.

As someone who has been de facto boycotting Apple (the last Apple device I've owned was an iPhone 3G) over annoyance with their iron fisted control policies, I wish you were right that this would damage their corporate brand, but I don't think it will.

Most non-geeks just don't care about this stuff one way or another. And most geeks either rationalize it or post how annoyed by it they are from their shiny new MacBook or iPhone.

I think this course of action is incredibly stupid of Apple regardless of public perception though. If they ever did manage to get Android killed in the way they seem to want to (Jobs' 'thermonuclear' option), don't they realize that would make them the 90's-Microsoft of smartphones? Is killing Android worth a future in which they have to cede control of the app store, debundle mobile Safari, or offer the user a choice of browsers, etc?

Given their corporate culture of control, having a relatively strong competitor is actually a VERY GOOD thing for them, especially when they are still pulling in record profits quarter after quarter even with the competition.

Of course, I don't expect they ever will actually kill Android, they are just guaranteeing Google is going to go after them in all the same markets using Motorola IP, forcing widescale settlements. In the end nothing will be gained by anyone except the lawyers.

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