$100 million on patent suit with HTC. When is enough, enough?

[Treatz]

I was perusing the web the other day and came across this article on BGR

When I read the headline in passing I immediately rolled my eyes. When is to much, to much?

Everyone seems to be suing everyone and Apple is no stranger to this behavior.

Having read the Steve Jobs biography, or even having general knowledge of Apple, I'm aware of Steve Jobs' wish to burn Android to the ground for being a "copycat" of iOS.

Now, someone stop me if I'm wrong here, but isn't iOS based upon Macintosh's look and feel? Didn't that look and feel originally come from Xerox?

Here's my bit:
$100.00 Million spent, Lawyers loving it. Consumers are still voting with their wallets, iOS and Android are seeing exponential growth. Clearly there is room for both

Leave the money in the bank and let the consumers decide what they want. It's not like Apple isn't selling products here.

What are your thoughts?

[ceredon]

I think Xerox and the Mac UI are a difficult comparison, especially since Xerox was aware of Apple's intentions and was paid for access to PARC. They also had a completely different market to target the concepts to, which is why Xerox was on board with Apple's plans. Contrast that with the iPhone/Android situation, where Schmidt was on the board at Apple while the iPhone was being developed, Android was already fairly mature and heading down a completely different paradigm path to sell into the same market as a BlackBerry clone. The iPhone launches and suddenly Android morphs into something much more iPhone-like and less BB-like, as it was initially being developed.

Having said that, I think there is a need for Apple to aggressively defend their IP but they also need to recognize the futility of some of their actions and move on. Samsung for instance shamelessly apes Apple's industrial design, look and feel, right down to the cables and packaging. Apple has been in a position before where the work they did to introduce new or reworked concepts and designs was taken and used in a more commercially successful product and it almost killed them. Of course they are going to be sensitive to it happening again especially from a company that was a close ally for so long. But I do think the number and intensity of the lawsuits today is going to be a distraction for them.

[howard]

I haven't read Steve Job's biography but did it say what specific aspect of Android was a copy of iOS?

[Treatz]

I haven't read Steve Job's biography but did it say what specific aspect of Android was a copy of iOS?

nope, just that he wanted to bury Android and would spent Apple last cent because "it's a copy"

[howard]

While iOS is a great OS when it came out I thought there were similarities between it and S60. Of course back then S60 wasn't touchscreen yet.

[ceredon]

While iOS is a great OS when it came out I thought there were similarities between it and S60. Of course back then S60 wasn't touchscreen yet.

That's a pretty key difference.

[hashim71]

I haven't read Steve Job's biography but did it say what specific aspect of Android was a copy of iOS?

Well eric Schmidt was on the team of board of directors at apple and was aware of the making of the iPhone before anyone. And while apple was hard at work, he took some ideas back to Google and Voilaaa!!!! Soon after iOS androids started raining. No one knew what apple was up to except Google

Sent from my HTC Panache using HowardForums

[howard]

Well eric Schmidt was on the team of board of directors at apple and was aware of the making of the iPhone before anyone. And while apple was hard at work, he took some ideas back to Google and Voilaaa!!!! Soon after iOS androids started raining. No one knew what apple was up to except Google

Sent from my HTC Panache using HowardForums

Ah, if that's how Steve Jobs thought of it I can see why he was a little annoyed.

[n2jtx]

What are you trying to do, create unemployed lawyers? LOL

[XFF]

Here's my bit:
$100.00 Million spent, Lawyers loving it. Consumers are still voting with their wallets, iOS and Android are seeing exponential growth. Clearly there is room for both

Leave the money in the bank and let the consumers decide what they want. It's not like Apple isn't selling products here.

What are your thoughts?

I think spending money is good for the economy.

Why are you worried about it? Unless you're an Apple shareholder, it's not your money.

[scaredpoet]

Unfortunately, it's an arms race, and to back down means that your adversaries will eat you alive. Thus is the Cold War of Intellectual property. Apple has their patents that they use to lob against others, and others (Kodak, Nokia, etc) lob their missiles back.

Apple isn't the only guilty party in this, even though they get a lot of the press.

[Furry Atom]

Well eric Schmidt was on the team of board of directors at apple and was aware of the making of the iPhone before anyone. And while apple was hard at work, he took some ideas back to Google and Voilaaa!!!! Soon after iOS androids started raining. No one knew what apple was up to except Google

Sent from my HTC Panache using HowardForums

Yes, and I believe after that incident the iPad was kept secret from Schmidt. To be fair, if he wanted to make Steve was getting mad at Google because of his own ignorance.

I think Xerox and the Mac UI are a difficult comparison, especially since Xerox was aware of Apple's intentions and was paid for access to PARC. They also had a completely different market to target the concepts to, which is why Xerox was on board with Apple's plans. Contrast that with the iPhone/Android situation, where Schmidt was on the board at Apple while the iPhone was being developed, Android was already fairly mature and heading down a completely different paradigm path to sell into the same market as a BlackBerry clone. The iPhone launches and suddenly Android morphs into something much more iPhone-like and less BB-like, as it was initially being developed.

Having said that, I think there is a need for Apple to aggressively defend their IP but they also need to recognize the futility of some of their actions and move on. Samsung for instance shamelessly apes Apple's industrial design, look and feel, right down to the cables and packaging. Apple has been in a position before where the work they did to introduce new or reworked concepts and designs was taken and used in a more commercially successful product and it almost killed them. Of course they are going to be sensitive to it happening again especially from a company that was a close ally for so long. But I do think the number and intensity of the lawsuits today is going to be a distraction for them.

At the moment most courts in the world disagree with you, but go ahead and keep thinking that, there's not really any right and wrong when it comes to that situation. The one thing from Samsung I would say is copying Apple is the Tab 10.1. It looks similar to me and the cord is similar too. But you're fallaciously generalizing all their products which invalidates your argument.

[ceredon]

At the moment most courts in the world disagree with you, but go ahead and keep thinking that, there's not really any right and wrong when it comes to that situation. The one thing from Samsung I would say is copying Apple is the Tab 10.1. It looks similar to me and the cord is similar too. But you're fallaciously generalizing all their products which invalidates your argument.

The courts have disagreed with how much can be covered by copyrights and patents, but that doesn't change or invalidate the fact that they have aped a lot from Apple.





I'll go ahead an keep thinking it. You go ahead and keep trying to think it isn't true. I never generalized and said it was across all of their products. I said they ape their ID. They do. There is really no denying it (and hence no reason for the strawman). (And yes, the smartcover knockoffs were from a technically separate company and not Samsung. They were however certified as official Samsung accessories and the company is run by Samsung family members)

[zapjb]

Evil Rankings:

1. Apple (fanboy zombies, locked down devices, proprietory connectors, turned "Pay the Mouse" into Eat the
Worm)
2. Google (1984 Orwellian)
3. Microsoft (after all the evil years Gates is giving away most all his personal wealth)

[howard]

See, the Samsung charger and cables are black! They're totally different!

The courts have disagreed with how much can be covered by copyrights and patents, but that doesn't change or invalidate the fact that they have aped a lot from Apple.





I'll go ahead an keep thinking it. You go ahead and keep trying to think it isn't true. I never generalized and said it was across all of their products. I said they ape their ID. They do. There is really no denying it (and hence no reason for the strawman). (And yes, the smartcover knockoffs were from a technically separate company and not Samsung. They were however certified as official Samsung accessories and the company is run by Samsung family members)