Apple sues HTC over iPhone patents

[dguy6789]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10462116-94.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/190596/apple_sues_htc_claiming_20_patent_infringements.html
http://www.dailytech.com/Apple+Clai...lting+Sues+HTC+to+Stop+Sales/article17811.htm
http://www.informationweek.com/news...html?articleID=223101486&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News

Apple is suing phone maker HTC, alleging that the Taiwanese company is infringing 20 Apple patents related to the user interface, underlying architecture, and hardware of the iPhone.

"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it," Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, said Tuesday in a statement. "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."

HTC makes a number of mobile phones based on Google's Android operating system.
Apple said that the lawsuit was filed concurrently with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

I wonder if one of the patents in question is multi-touch.

Edited to include links to more articles.

 

[Unheard]

Apple just has their panties in a wad. They realize they are losing market share to Android, and here in America, the logical thing to do is sue.

Screw apple and their POS phone.

 

[preslove]

How long is it going to take HTC to countersue? They had years of IP in smartphones before the iphone came along & I'm sure apple used some of that IP without license, like they did with Nokia.

 

[Phobic9]

I don't think it'll take long for HTC to countersue but I suppose they only went after them because Google is just too big. What's more interesting is that Apple is starting to become the corporation they were poking fun at many years ago.

Fanboys are having a field day with this one already. :awe:

 

[AstroManLuca]

Patents these days are a joke. Companies will register patents for things that have obviously already been invented and in common use for years. One of the Apple patents they're suing HTC over was reducing voltage in a processor to save battery, registered in 2008! Oh, or an object-oriented graphic system patent from 1995, as if they invented that back then and HTC was the first company to infringe.

I say either completely scrap the patent system, or greatly curtail the number of patents handed out. Applying for a patent should be just that, APPLYING for one. You shouldn't necessarily get it. But judging from the patents that get handed out these days, you'd think it was just an automatic approval.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

who cares? the only sense UI phone in the US is the Hero and Droid Eris. Sense UI is all over the world and it's probably the most sought after UI. Why else are people trying to port it on their N1s and Droids?

Oh well, I guess Apple views this as a threat because many people are skinning their iPhones with Sense UI themes....

 

[MJinZ]

Google should really bend Apple over and rip them a new one.

The iPhone is NOTHING without Google, and these suits look like they are more indirectly targeting Google than anyone else.

I used to not care about Apple fans and having owned a ton of their products, no longer care about their products. Now, I'm hoping they crash and burn and make all the Macheads cry themselves to sleep when their glorious leader Mr. Jobs goes down in a pile of flaming crap that is the evolution of Apple products (aka iPad).

 

[preslove]

I've been debating whether to get the N1 after it comes to Verizon, or whether to wait for the iPhone refresh. I think this has clinched it for the N1.

Fuck apple.

 

[Deeko]

I looked at the patents in question...some of them are exceedingly generic and vague. How were those patents granted in the first place?

Also, like others have said, I'm sure HTC has patents that Apple is using too. These cell phone companies do this all the time - they're constantly suing and counter suing each other. It gets old.

 

[MJinZ]

I've been debating whether to get the N1 after it comes to Verizon, or whether to wait for the iPhone refresh. I think this has clinched it for the N1.

Fuck apple.

Getting the N1 or Droid on Verizon in a few months, it's a no brainer. Apple can go rot in a ditch.

 

[MotF Bane]

http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/02/th...crunch+(TechCrunch)&utm_content=Google+Reader

Lists the patents in question. Multi-touch is one of them. Fuck Apple.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I looked at the patents in question...some of them are exceedingly generic and vague. How were those patents granted in the first place?

Also, like others have said, I'm sure HTC has patents that Apple is using too. These cell phone companies do this all the time - they're constantly suing and counter suing each other. It gets old.

And how do they pay for all this suing and countersuing? By jacking up rate plans, tacking on required data plans regardless of whether the user wants or needs one or not, charging twice for every text message (which themselves cost an obscene amount of money given what they actually cost the carrier), and even making voicemail messages extra long and hard to skip so you're more likely to spend 2 minutes rather than 1 on the phone if you do leave a message.

If they weren't so damn handy I'd skip having a cell phone entirely.

 

[preslove]

I looked at the patents in question...some of them are exceedingly generic and vague. How were those patents granted in the first place?

Also, like others have said, I'm sure HTC has patents that Apple is using too. These cell phone companies do this all the time - they're constantly suing and counter suing each other. It gets old.

This is somewhat different, though. Nokia has tons of patents, but it normally just uses them to convince other companies to cross-license & gain access to their IP. They're currently suing apple because apple wouldn't cross-license when they were developing the iPhone. Apple just up and used Nokia's GSM patents, which are a hell of a lot more defensible than the drivel Apple is Suing HTC over.

Apple, however, is actively trying to stifle competition by locking down all the touch screen UI. They've shown that they're not interested in cross-licensing. They just want the whole market.

But, patents are worthless until they're tested in court. Hopefully Google backs HTC's legal bills and these patents can be thrown out.

 

[Deeko]

This is somewhat different, though. Nokia has tons of patents, but it normally just uses them to convince other companies to cross-license & gain access to their IP. They're currently suing apple because apple wouldn't cross-license when they were developing the iPhone. Apple just up and used Nokia's GSM patents, which are a hell of a lot more defensible than the drivel Apple is Suing HTC over.

Apple, however, is actively trying to stifle competition by locking down all the touch screen UI. They've shown that they're not interested in cross-licensing. They just want the whole market.

But, patents are worthless until they're tested in court. Hopefully Google backs HTC's legal bills and these patents can be thrown out.

I found this on Engadget to be intriguing:

There's no delicate way to put this: at least part of Apple's patent lawsuit against HTC appears to be a proxy fight for a larger issue with Android as a whole. Apple's complaint with the International Trade Commission makes an explicit distinction between HTC's Android devices and its WinMo phones (referred only to as "DSP Products"), and the Android sets are repeatedly called out for infringing certain patents. We don't know exactly what Apple's issue is yet -- the problem could be the specific way HTC implements Android, rather than Android itself -- but it's certainly a big shot across Google's bow. We'll keep reading and let you know what else we find out.

Basically, they're suing Google, they're just afraid to do it directly.

Hope those iPhone owners are excited about having Bing search and Bing Maps in their next software update!!!!

 

[MJinZ]

I found this on Engadget to be intriguing:



Basically, they're suing Google, they're just afraid to do it directly.

Hope those iPhone owners are excited about having Bing search and Bing Maps in their next software update!!!!

Exactly, and Google knows it as obviously as we do. Google can say Fuck you Apple and shut down their entire operation. Would you buy an iPhone without Google capabilities? I don't think so.

Here's to Verizon making a killing on the Nexus One.:thumbsup:

 

[Phobic9]

Exactly, and Google knows it as obviously as we do. Google can say Fuck you Apple and shut down their entire operation. Would you buy an iPhone without Google capabilities? I don't think so.

Here's to Verizon making a killing on the Nexus One.:thumbsup:

Only issue with Google pulling all their apps off the iPhone is the loss of gaining new customers to use their services. Then again, there are a lot of iPhone users that use stuff like Gmail and Google Docs every day on their iPhone so maybe losing those would cause a mass exodus.

Who knows? Should be interesting to see what happens... if anything at all even happens.

 

[gorcorps]

I found this on Engadget to be intriguing:



Basically, they're suing Google, they're just afraid to do it directly.

Hope those iPhone owners are excited about having Bing search and Bing Maps in their next software update!!!!

Have you actually used bing maps? It's pretty awesome if you ask me. Does everything google maps does and then adds on to it. And all they could do is change the DEFAULT search to bing, which anybody with a brain can change back to google.

 

[Deeko]

Have you actually used bing maps? It's pretty awesome if you ask me. Does everything google maps does and then adds on to it. And all they could do is change the DEFAULT search to bing, which anybody with a brain can change back to google.

Actually yea, I love Bing Maps on the desktop. Its got a few UI quirks that aren't quite as intuitive as Google, but as a whole, I think its a superior product.

 

[MJinZ]

Have you actually used bing maps? It's pretty awesome if you ask me. Does everything google maps does and then adds on to it. And all they could do is change the DEFAULT search to bing, which anybody with a brain can change back to google.

Microsoft Bing + Apple. I have to LOL if it comes down to it.

 

[preslove]

Google would never do that, because the entire point of Android is to lock users into google services (this is why they don't charge handset makers for it). Why just lock out millions of users? That would cause a huge dip in their stock price, on top of lost revenue.

If I were google, I would somehow line up financing for HTC to fight the legal battles & help during the actual court case, if it ever comes to that. And really, it's time for Palm to act and sue Apple for whatever infringement case that they can make. This war needs to fought now and decided, rather than drag on and on hurting the industry for years.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Jobs can fuck himself with a rusty sword. How dare he spout shit about 'sitting idly by' when he himself refused to licence the Nokia patents like all other manufacturers.

Fuck you Jobs, fuck you in your stupid ass.

 

[preslove]

Engadget has a great breakdown of each patent mentioned in the suit: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/apple-vs-htc-a-patent-breakdown/

The worst?

Patents #5,519,867 and #6,275,983: Object Oriented Multitasking System and Object-Oriented Operating System

Apple lumps these older OS patents together, so we are too. '867 is from 1996 and covers accessing OS level services in a multithreaded way; '983 is from 2001 and describes an OS in which apps can access native system services and those services can make use of data associated with an object. Again, dry, technical -- and totally aimed at Android, not HTC itself.

The iPhone doesn't even multitask!

 

[DivideBYZero]

Engadget has a great breakdown of each patent mentioned in the suit: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/apple-vs-htc-a-patent-breakdown/

The worst?
[q]Patents #5,519,867 and #6,275,983: Object Oriented Multitasking System and Object-Oriented Operating System

Apple lumps these older OS patents together, so we are too. '867 is from 1996 and covers accessing OS level services in a multithreaded way; '983 is from 2001 and describes an OS in which apps can access native system services and those services can make use of data associated with an object. Again, dry, technical -- and totally aimed at Android, not HTC itself.[/q]

The iPhone doesn't even multitask!

The iPhone doesn't multitask, so they try to stop all others from doing it. Fucking dicks.

 

[theeedude]

"HTC is a mobile technology innovator and patent holder that has been very focused over the past 13 years on creating many of the most innovative smartphones," the company said in its statement. "HTC values patent rights and their enforcement but is also committed to defending its own technology innovations. "
Sounds like PRese for "countersuit coming."
Also, I hate how these are being litigated in the ITC. It should be up to courts to decide patent suits, IMO, not some trade commission of questionable objectivity.

 

[theeedude]

BTW, what happens if ITC rules to ban importation of "infringing" HTC phones due to software features of Android OS that are installed on them. Can HTC then simply ship these phones to the US with no OS installed, and have Android installed stateside by Google, for example, before packaging?