
Sounds Promising
Anything that can switch off the bullshit machine will be helpful. I've nothing against patents and protecting IP, but the current situation is not good for anything
The EU has said it is concerned about the Great Patent Wars being a cover for unfair competition practices by IT firms. Despite no complaints being filed, the European Commission decided to open an investigation into the warfare between Apple and Samsung involving 3G standards patents. "We requested information from both …
It's samsung using the 3G standards patents in the war. I'm not much for these patent disputes in general, but from what I've seen Samsung is looking much the worse out of this particular pair.
For anyone not familiar with the details, apple are suing samsung over a bunch of patents, relating to various software, designs and such. Not something to be happy about, but pretty standard these days unfortunately..
Then there's samsung's retaliation. They're using patents covering core 3G standards, which they agreed to license under FRAND. Basically they agreed to licence them to *anyone* under fair terms. They licensed them to the company making the baseband chips in the iPhones, which apple then bought and used.
Now they're asking for money from apple too, and from what I've heard so far they're asking for 2%. Not much, but there are hundreds of these patented inventions involved in such a chip, meaning the total patent fees would be multiples of the cost of the product. Hardly 'fair' licensing, and charging for the same patent twice (double dipping) is not legal in most places. Apple obviously refused.
So they're now asking for iPhones to be banned from sale because it uses 3G, despite the iPhone using parts that are licensed, and against the FRAND agreements they signed when signing up to the 3G spec. *ALL* 3G phones are likely to be covered by these patents, so if they're successful they could potentially ban any mobile phone that has 3G. This is why the EU are investigating.
So yes, I think it'll end up exploding in their faces, and they'll be fully deserving it :)
crapple are suing and blocking Samsung products based on a design patent on the idea of "rounded corners".
Because of this, IMHO, Samsung could sue crapple based on the fact that both companies have an a in their name and Samsung used that letter first and I would totally 100% support Samsung in it.
crapple need to be punched in the face repeatedly because they are c*nts. Even if all this posturing only makes people aware of how pathetic they are, at least it may just influence those people enough to not buy crapple products. That would be awesome.
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Maybe, but I don't think either side expects to win. This is about disrupting business around the Apple launch and run-up to Christmas. Apple needs to get the wins in before Android-on-tablets gets the mindshare it has on phones.
This is the behaviour you get when you can effectively convict before a trial.
"As the number of big players in this sector has dwindled, it increases the chances that if any of the big firms - Google, Microsoft or Apple - win IP battles against other companies, they'll effectively create monopolies in the process."
Er you mean monopolies like patents? Rewarding innovation with a time-limited right to exclude others?
With everybody attacking everybody else, I can't really see that the "Great Patent Wars" could be stifling competition. They'll be a few big decisions and it will all settle down to business as usual.
This would seem to be one of these rare cases. Hopefully, the investigation announced by Señor Almunia will not be restricted to patents, but cover the whole spectrum of so-called «intellectual property», not least the EU's so-called «design-registration» practices. As the UK business-link site explains the matter : «[a] registered design is a monopoly right for the appearance of the whole or part of a product, resulting particularly from the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and materials of a product or its ornamentation» (http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073791345&type=RESOURCES), which in German judge Johanna Brueckner-Hoffmann's opinion allows Apple to monopolise designs with «minimalist, modern form», i e, a smooth rectangle with rounded corners (http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/09/german-court-upholds-injunction-against-samsung-galaxy-tab-10-1/). No wonder the business-link goes on to say that such a registration «can be a very valuable piece of intellectual property that you can license or sell» ! Presumably Apple has already registered the Platonic and Archimedean solids as their own designs, so that all competing firms can be blocked for the foreseeable future, at least in the EU, if the investigation adumbrated by Señor Almunia does not put a stop to these absurdities. All hail our Cupertinian masters ; may their realm exist forever and ever !...
Henri
The Apple-biased media does not mention who started this war - Apple demands monopoly over design that was around since the first photo-frame and, yes, LG Prada, etc.
So who exactly started this mortal fight in order to preven ANY compeition, aye fanboys?