In the world of silicon valley intellectual property lawyers what you see is hardly never what it is.
Doesn't stop the lawsuits from being filed ...
Apple Patent Application Uses 3rd Party App Screen as Example
31–34 of 34 posts
Re: Apple Patent Application Uses 3rd Party App Screen as Example
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
No they didn't. This is the same thing that happens any time anyone gets riled up about a patent. Someone glanced at the title or an image (in this case) in a patent application and assumes that is what the patent is for . In this case it is not, which is clear if you read the actual claims of the patent. The image is one of many existing third-party app screens used in this patent application to show apps where the…
If I copied a business partner's design in line art and put it in a patent application somewhat related to the business partner's business it would be OK? I think not.
I was assuming that Apple knowingly tried to patent prior-art. _That_ I would consider Evil™. But apparently, this may not be the case.
Now, looking at the claims, this patent application could probably be attacked from another angle (such as obviousness).
Re: Apple Patent Application Uses 3rd Party App Screen as Example
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, but even trying is both dishonest and a waste of the patent office's time. The patent office can still make things right, but Apple just did (some) Evil™ here.
The post title still needs to be changed.
That probably wouldn't have been enough. I paid more attention to the article than to the title itself. I would have been fooled anyway.
Re: Apple Patent Application Uses 3rd Party App Screen as Example
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
If I copied a business partner's design in line art and put it in a patent application somewhat related to the business partner's business it would be OK? I think not.
If you were patenting a TV and in your patent's example diagram, the TV showed Mad Men playing on it, would that be OK? I don't know if it would or not, but it sounds like they're trying to patent the TV, not Mad Men.
Since short fragments are allowed as fair use, one frame from a movie should be ok too. Whether you can copy a wireframe design of an interface under fair use is an interesting question though...