Googorola Files Patent Infringement Case Against Apple; Seeks iPhone/iPad/Mac Ban

Phokus

Lifer
Nov 20, 1999
22,994
779
126
lol, Google is officially joining the litigation bandwagon now?

It's called playing defense. They pretty much have to. And i hope they win. Apple is the most aggressive patent troll out there.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Apple is the most aggressive patent troll out there.

Pretty sure a patent troll is a term used for someone that sits on a patent without ever using it and only having the intent to litigate. They also tend to sue in... where was it... east Texas?
 

TuxDave

Lifer
Oct 8, 2002
10,571
3
71
It's called playing defense. They pretty much have to. And i hope they win. Apple is the most aggressive patent troll out there.

Technically all these patent lawsuits is "defense" as in "defending their IP". It would be hypocritical to think this form of patent litigation is any different from what Apple has been doing.
 

shurato

Platinum Member
Sep 24, 2000
2,398
0
76
Does Apple think they're going to continue bullying everyone around and not get a taste of their own medicine?

Self defense turns to the offense. -Cypress Hill.
 

PowerYoga

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2001
4,603
0
0
Pretty sure a patent troll is a term used for someone that sits on a patent without ever using it and only having the intent to litigate. They also tend to sue in... where was it... east Texas?

Normally I'd agree with you, but Apple is claiming the patent on rounded corners on a phone. If that's not a bullshit patent designed for trolling I don't know what is.
 

cheezy321

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2003
6,218
2
0
It's called playing defense. They pretty much have to. And i hope they win. Apple is the most aggressive patent troll out there.

The funny thing is Google fits the term patent troll so much better than Apple.

When did apple buy a company solely for their patents? Motorola Mobility sure isnt making any money for them...

Edit: Apples lawsuits have been out in the open for over a year now, and we still have ignorant fools thinking this is just about rounded corners and rectangles. Oh well.
 
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Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
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Normally I'd agree with you, but Apple is claiming the patent on rounded corners on a phone. If that's not a bullshit patent designed for trolling I don't know what is.

They also claim to own the patents on the colors black and silver, and the rectangular shape. Bull shit though it is, it is not patent trolling because they make and sell a product using those features. Everyone else does too, and had for years before Apple made its first handheld gadget. But, it is not patent trolling. You can look up the defunct SCO Group and Lodsys for text book patent trolling.

What Apple does is more akin to the bully in the school yard who's bigger than all the other kids, so he gets to take everyone else's ice cream.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
Can't wait for the notifier bar patent to go through.
They should save that one for a rainy day.

The day they need to neuter Apple's entire iOS product line.
 

TuxDave

Lifer
Oct 8, 2002
10,571
3
71
Edit: Apples lawsuits have been out in the open for over a year now, and we still have ignorant fools thinking this is just about rounded corners and rectangles. Oh well

Sad but true. Sad to see misinformation has such a long lasting life.

Anyways, Google suing Apple is expected as part of "playing the game". So if Apple suing Samsung is patent trolling due to "obvious patents", now we have:

Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Motorola Mobility unit said it filed a new patent-infringement case against Apple Inc. (AAPL) claiming that features on some Apple devices, including the Siri voice-recognition program, infringe its patents.

Is it fair to say that Google is claiming all rights to voice recognition? Clearly an obvious patent

/trolling :p
 
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cl-scott

ASUS Support
Jul 5, 2012
457
0
0
Pretty sure a patent troll is a term used for someone that sits on a patent without ever using it and only having the intent to litigate. They also tend to sue in... where was it... east Texas?

Like said below, Apple isn't trying to defend its patents, it's trying to hobble the competition through litigation rather than developing those really great and innovative products they love to go on about. And of course Google is the real target here, but due to various legal machinations Apple can only claim damages against companies that make Android devices.

They've been stepping up their legal efforts over in Europe in a big way where iPhone/Pad/Pod sales are flatlining, and quite frankly Samsung is right: Name an area of the tech industry from software, computers, cell phones, printers, or whatever else, and everyone has been stealing ideas from everyone else since time immemorial. Windows and Mac OS could easily be said to be based on work from the Xerox PARC people, and there were other GUIs to come along, that have largely been forgotten, which are showing ideas that would be touted as some great new "innovative" feature by Apple or Microsoft 5 years later.

There was nothing particularly new about the iPhone when it came out. Smartphones existed before, touch screen devices existed before, MP3 players existed before. Everything about the iPhone was old hat by the time it came out. The only thing Apple did was manage to package all of these things together in a way that worked better than anything else at the time. They absolutely deserve credit for raising the bar on smartphones, touch screens, etc. However, when they then turn around and try and claim credit for inventing some of these things, they should be laughed out of court. Unfortunately, that's not the way our legal system works.
 

cheezy321

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2003
6,218
2
0
Like said below, Apple isn't trying to defend its patents, it's trying to hobble the competition through litigation rather than developing those really great and innovative products they love to go on about. And of course Google is the real target here, but due to various legal machinations Apple can only claim damages against companies that make Android devices.

They've been stepping up their legal efforts over in Europe in a big way where iPhone/Pad/Pod sales are flatlining, and quite frankly Samsung is right: Name an area of the tech industry from software, computers, cell phones, printers, or whatever else, and everyone has been stealing ideas from everyone else since time immemorial. Windows and Mac OS could easily be said to be based on work from the Xerox PARC people, and there were other GUIs to come along, that have largely been forgotten, which are showing ideas that would be touted as some great new "innovative" feature by Apple or Microsoft 5 years later.

There was nothing particularly new about the iPhone when it came out. Smartphones existed before, touch screen devices existed before, MP3 players existed before. Everything about the iPhone was old hat by the time it came out. The only thing Apple did was manage to package all of these things together in a way that worked better than anything else at the time. They absolutely deserve credit for raising the bar on smartphones, touch screens, etc. However, when they then turn around and try and claim credit for inventing some of these things, they should be laughed out of court. Unfortunately, that's not the way our legal system works.

What that being said (even though I do not agree), do you think that Google should be laughed out of court with these lawsuits just like you think Apple should?
 

TuxDave

Lifer
Oct 8, 2002
10,571
3
71
Like said below, Apple isn't trying to defend its patents, it's trying to hobble the competition through litigation rather than developing those really great and innovative products they love to go on about. And of course Google is the real target here, but due to various legal machinations Apple can only claim damages against companies that make Android devices.

Oh... so like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone_wars

It's interesting if you want to focus on the first fired bullets from each company :D Oh Nokia... you patent troll.
 

Dominato3r

Diamond Member
Aug 15, 2008
5,109
1
0
The funny thing is Google fits the term patent troll so much better than Apple.

When did apple buy a company solely for their patents? Motorola Mobility sure isnt making any money for them...

Edit: Apples lawsuits have been out in the open for over a year now, and we still have ignorant fools thinking this is just about rounded corners and rectangles. Oh well.

Yup. I think Rubin was quoted saying Motorola aquisiton was solely for "patent peace".

All this seems to show is that Microsoft is the only one of the group that is willing to license out their patents.

And recent revelations have shown that Apple and Microsoft also have an agreement. So Apple does share its technologies.
 

cl-scott

ASUS Support
Jul 5, 2012
457
0
0
What that being said (even though I do not agree), do you think that Google should be laughed out of court with these lawsuits just like you think Apple should?

Absolutely. The overwhelming majority of lawsuits like this should be thrown out, and a punitive fine assessed to the plaintiff in the amount of the total cost to the court for every courthouse employee that spent time dealing with the case. So assuming a universal pay rate of $10/hr (it's an easy number to work with), and 5 employees spent 1 hour dealing with the paperwork, then a punitive fine of $50 would be assessed. That would be my preferred method of dealing with this.

Google knows full well they're never going to get an injunction against every one of Apple's products. It's a ridiculous demand that pretty much anyone can see would effectively put Apple out of business. I consider it rather unsportsmanlike to file suits like this. If Apple could point to any kind of evidence that showed how Samsung devices were having a negative impact on Apple device sales, then I might be somewhat more sympathetic. However, considering how they love to show photos of lines around the block when they launch some new device, that seems like a pretty difficult argument to make. Particularly since there's nothing saying a person can't own BOTH a Samsung AND Apple device. The same applies to Google's case. I'm sure on at least the mail notification one, you could find the source code for something like xBiff that goes back possibly before there even really were cell phones (in a consumer sense).
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
They've been stepping up their legal efforts over in Europe in a big way where iPhone/Pad/Pod sales are flatlining, and quite frankly Samsung is right: Name an area of the tech industry from software, computers, cell phones, printers, or whatever else, and everyone has been stealing ideas from everyone else since time immemorial. Windows and Mac OS could easily be said to be based on work from the Xerox PARC people

Mac OS was copied directly from Xerox PARC, when Jobs took his entire design team into the labs, with permission from Xerox management, and took detailed notes. The man was a thieving jackass. Course, Xerox management were also idiots too.