Google loads Moto Mobility cannon, fires patent shells at Apple Google's Motorola Mobility has filed a fresh patent infringement case against Apple over features on its phones, including the iPhone's voice assistant, Siri. Moto filed with the US International Trade Commission to try to get Apple's iDevices and Macs banned in the country over seven different patents that deal with location …
Doesn't even matter if Moto used them or not (they may well have). Just ask Patent Trolls.
On the article however, it digresses into the whole FRAND crap again at the bottom. These 7 patents do not appear to be related to FRAND in any way, and thus, Moto could extort $30/device licensing fees if they so desired (coincidentally, that's how much Apple wanted to extort from Samsung to use a rounded-corner rectangular form factor...)
A complete ban on all Apple 3G enabled items being imported to the US along with all other kit if possible for every possible reason.
And then a ban on all items with Android on the basis of UI and look and feel and all other disputes.
Ban all of them on every possible basis them tell them the ban stays until they sit down, sort it out and agree a final settlement on all current and future possible actions on all patents currently disputed in court and in other disputes, ie Moto or Samsung on FRAND with all others etc etc.
Then maybe we can get back to innovation rather and spending so much time looking at each others kit for the tiniest reason to seek a ban.
The secret battle plan becomes more obvious by the day: Get all competing smartphones off the US market and push Win8 down everybodies throat. Don't ask me how they got everyone to follow the script.
The Evil Empire did it again! Should never count out a convicted monopolist!
I'm with you on that.
That would force everyone's hand in Apple vs. Every Android vendor they've sued or who has sued them to get them into a conference room to hammer out licensing deals rather quickly. None of them would want to be banned for long from sale in the US, especially once Windows Phone 8 and BB become the only available products to buy. Consumers might get sour on both Apple and Android and Windows and BB could take advantage of being the only available mobes, if such an iOS and Android ban went into effect.
But with patents instead of ships and lawyers instead of cannon fire. Oh yeah, and the US courts instead of the ocean. And PR points instead of those little red plastic hit markers. And a jury instead of those little white miss markers. And a court stenographer instead of that tray that holds all the hit and miss markers. Actually it's not very much like Battleships after all. Sorry guys.
If you ban devices that look like another.... you'll get devices that look different.
Apple has a monopoly on the tablet front because they are nice to use, well supported and have a better tablet ecosystem that people actually want to use. Also because, unlike phones, the carrier subsidies don't distort pricing.
It's not due to lack of competition, there's plenty of it.
No, you've got that wrong.
It was quite possible to make cars that looked nothing like the first Benz. For the first 20 years there were patented parts of its design that couldn't be used without licensing. There onward anyone could use them.
The point is that patents are time limited, government backed monopolies. You get exclusivity ONLY for the life of the patent, after which the design becomes public domain.
"For the first 20 years there were patented parts of its design that couldn't be used without licensing"
Yes, but for this to be comparable, Benz would have needed to patent "A cuboid-ish cabin space with a wheel at each corner". I don't know if he did that or not, but I suspect not.
This is actually a great comparison, because it would have required Benz to ignore all the prior art of horse-drawn carriages as well.
1. Cars all look reasonably different - you can often even see which make it is simply by looking at the design, no need to read the make sticker - this was the case for Apple kit as well, before ...
2. Cola? From what I heard, the copies taste like shit - I think all Colas taste like shit. Still, nobody is stopping people from creating a phone/tablet. How can you compare phone designs to beverages ???
3. There were smartphones before apple came into the market, all looked different to Apple's model back then, now new smartphones all look the same, like Apple's smartphone ...
4. Most Hollywood movies are crap anyway ... how can you compare phone designs to movies ?
Cannot see where you are coming from ...
"see which make it is simply by looking at the design, no need to read the make sticker - this was the case for Apple kit as well, before ..."
Garbage - if you can't tell the difference between tablets then get glasses, or switch the screen on. TV's are 100x more alike than current tablets and no one is claiming patents on a rectangle
"3. There were smartphones before apple came into the market, all looked different to Apple's model back then:
They all looked different to a phone that didn't exist? You don't say!!
There were rectangular phones and PDA's made way before Apple even looked at the market
Would be nice to known instead of Google leaking incomplete info to the press on a late Friday evening.
If it's anything like their previous batch they won't do much and the listed areas seem like something Apple can work around anyway.
The whole announcement seems like a FUD op to me.
So much for Google not suing everyone.
Funny how if it's Apple doing it then it's wrong but where are all the posts condemning Google? Probably why they bought Motorola, so they can sue without tarnishing their image.
Perhaps they should go back to fixing all the problems with the Nexus 7 and provide some customer support?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jul/22/nexus-7-glass-complaints-google
"Funny how if it's Apple doing it then it's wrong but where are all the posts condemning Google?"
They are filed with the posts condemning Samsung for counter suing Apple.
Its pretty obvious that Apple has been gunning for Android all along - the Samsung one is just the latest in a series of suits aimed at stopping their competitor.
I think a lot of people see this as a bully (hopefully) getting its just desserts....
is what happens when you make you patent office funded by submitted and accepeted patent applications, rather than by the government.
Im done with this idiocracy, can't wait until someone invents something so awsome that cant be copied, infringes loads of these ridiculous patents so cant be sold in the US, resulting in the people rising up - demanding their unobtainable shiny thing. Culminating in the reform of the patent office, and everyone (except the lawyers) living happily ever after.
[C]an't wait until someone invents something so awsome that cant be copied, infringes loads of these ridiculous patents so cant be sold in the US, resulting in the people rising up - demanding their unobtainable shiny thing. Culminating in the reform of the patent office, and everyone (except the lawyers) living happily ever after.
Sounds like the plot of a good movie.
Have you copyrighted that yet...?
99% of the buying public will continue to buy whatever device suits them the best.
IMHO, google should het most of the Android phone makers and give them a good kicking about their policies (or lack thereof) of issuing updates to the OS to their customers. This fragmentation and bad support (compared to Apple) is the primary weakness I see with the Android infrastructure. They might find it more profitable to do that rather than start suing Apple.
Personally, I've had it with so called smart phones. I'm going back to a simple dumb phone. Phone calls and Text only.
This will not improve until the Linux driver model improves. I don't think the handset manufacturers are to blame for Google releasing Android AOSP code specific to TI SoCs, which then requires a lot of work from the manufacturers at the low-level to port to whatever SoC is on the phone.
Much of this lies at Google's feet, Google's closed development model, and their decision to only support limited "Nexus" devices. However the future is looking more promising, with Google's recent announcement to work with Sony on supporting the non-Nexus Xperia S.
To be breaking their "do no evil" rule in such a dramatic and unpopular way. Seriously, ban all Apple products? Have they noticed how many and how hard people want to buy them? Yeah, that won't backlash one bit...
I suppose with a new iPhone 5, a much more affordable but still excellent 4S and maybe even a 3GS filling the bargain bin category, Google knows Apple will finally hit all those price levels and could turn the tables on them.
"So let's try our hand at this litigation stuff...."
I suppose with a new iPhone 5, a much more affordable but still excellent 4S and maybe even a 3GS
Planning to buy the set are you?
Because patents are bargaining chips Google's tactics are clear: every time Apple launches a flimsy action based on patents of dubious value, Google can launch a counter-action. With enough court cases either Apple will get fed up of keeping lawyers in coke and whores or the legislative might intervene to prevent the courts from being bogged down with nothing but patent cases.
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What phone will be left on the market?
No iDevices <- Moto blocking
No Android <- Apple blocking
No WinPho8 <- Nokia bankrupt :) And probably Moto and Apple turning their canons that way.
Crap - that leaves Blackberry sitting pretty.
*Disclaimer - I dont have a BB - havent had one for 5 years and wouldnt go back now. I'd just like my StarTac back and working - now that was a phone!
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Apple took design patents out on the iPad - 2001 and other films show that the design they patented was in fact "Stolen", so that should basically invalidate them .But then again Jobs said that Apple stole most of their ideas and technology so its just par for the course for them.
As someone with little or no emotional attachment to Google, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft etc, these patent wars are turning out to be epic entertainment.
I guess everyone wondered why Google bought Motorola Mobility way back when. Now we know. Google just unleashed the Dreadnought of patent suits.
...Of course, Apple will surely have a Schlieffen Plan up its sleeves to counter the threats from East (Samsung) and West (Google).
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