ITC bans some HTC android phones in america~

[HFS+]

goodbye android!
http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/19/itc-sides-with-apple-bans-sale-and-import-of-some-htc-phones/

 

[Gibson486]

So, HTC is the only android phone?

 

[MotF Bane]

I'm really starting to hate the patent system.

 

[sixone]

So, HTC is the only android phone?

That's what I was wondering...

 

[FallenHero]

obvious troll is obvious

 

[MiniDoom]

title fail...

 

[HFS+]

i hate them to, but seriosuly there are way to many android like phones on the market.

 

[Gibson486]

"android like" phone?

 

[lord_emperor]

a pair of patents held by the Cupertino company regarding the formatting of data (such as phone numbers) in otherwise unstructured documents (such as emails) allowing users to interact with them

.... WTF?

 

[MotF Bane]

"android like" phone?

Like, an Android! Like.

 

[MotF Bane]

.... WTF?

Yeah, patents are getting fucking ridiculous.

 

[TuxDave]

So, HTC is the only android phone?

Update: All Things D is reporting that the two patents in question are 5,946,647 and 6,343,263, the former of which is said to be "fundamental to Android."

It seems that if patent 5,946,647 is upheld, a lot of other Android handsets will be vulnerable.

http://www.patents.com/us-5946647.html

 

[TuxDave]

.... WTF?

I know when I open an email that contains a phone number, I can click the phone number and it'll dial it for me. I'm guessing that's one part of the patent and whether or not that idea can be patented.

 

[Matthiasa]

Update: All Things D is reporting that the two patents in question are 5,946,647 and 6,343,263, the former of which is said to be "fundamental to Android."

It seems that if patent 5,946,647 is upheld, a lot of other Android handsets will be vulnerable.

http://www.patents.com/us-5946647.html

Wouldn't it be more like any computer ever made would be vulnerable...

 

[corwin]

I know when I open an email that contains a phone number, I can click the phone number and it'll dial it for me. I'm guessing that's one part of the patent and whether or not that idea can be patented.

That function has been available on blackberries for quite a long time...don't think that's it or it's something more technical about how they do it...leave it to Apple to find a way to sue the competition away

 

[Spikesoldier]

is this like skype's way of interacting with numbers

 

[vshah]

Supposedly HTC has a workaround in place already

 

[BUTCH1]

Fuck the ITC, who the hell are they to tell me what phone or tablet to buy??

 

[TuxDave]

That function has been available on blackberries for quite a long time...don't think that's it or it's something more technical about how they do it...leave it to Apple to find a way to sue the competition away

Reading through the patent mumbo jumbo, it looks like it a method to enable many different actions for certain data structures. So a phone number can be dialed or added to a contact or used to create a contact blah blah blah.

And then there's a bunch of mumbo jumbo about how they specifically do it which I guess the combination of the two makes it a patent?

 

[Krazy4Real]

That's dumb.

 

[dainthomas]

Well, if they can patent rectangles I guess they can patent anything.

 

[corwin]

Reading through the patent mumbo jumbo, it looks like it a method to enable many different actions for certain data structures. So a phone number can be dialed or added to a contact or used to create a contact blah blah blah. And then there's a bunch of mumbo jumbo about how they specifically do it which I guess the combination of the two makes it a patent?

Yep...same options on a BB...guess it has to be something really specific about how they're doing it...splitting hairs to stifle innovation other than their own

 

[TuxDave]

Yep...same options on a BB...guess it has to be something really specific about how they're doing it...splitting hairs to stifle innovation other than their own

Yeah. In the on going effort of playing devil's advocate, I know my workplace has started a push for all of us engineers to start filing patents as a form of IP protection. So any idea that you think is creative and innovative, go file it and let the patent lawyers figure out if it's able to get patented. That way someone down the road can't go up to my company and say "hey, you stole my idea!" because you have a record of filing the idea already.

That and they also gave us specific instructions not to go out and start Googling your ideas before filing because it opens the risk where it looks like you're copying the idea etc...

It's a whole legal mess.

 

[Anonemous]

Woot patenting a hyperlink!

 

[drebo]

This sounds dumb.

That said, I hate Touchflow so anything bad that happens to HTC is good in my book.

HTC can go eat a dick for that piece of shit UI.