HTC Sues Apple Using Google Patents 342
AlienIntelligence writes "Apparently to stay viable in the IP wars, HTC secured some patents from Google (who purchased them originally from Palm Inc., Motorola Inc. and Openwave Systems Inc.) on the 1st of September. The patents were used to fire a new salvo of shots across Apple's bow today, September 7th. HTC filed infringement claims against Apple in federal court in Delaware, suing based on four of those patents that originally were issued to Motorola. Additional complaints were filed with the U.S. ITC based on the other patents."
Re:Proxy wars (Score:5, Interesting)
Live by the sword... (Score:5, Interesting)
About a year ago as the patent litigation really started picking up steam, I saw no reason for them to slow down until the situation reaches a critical time in which the courts or the legislative government calls for an end to all of it. It hasn't even gotten close to that critical moment yet, but I believe it will come. Meanwhile, we will have to see some serious consequences to the US economy before that happens... and it will happen.
Meanwhile, Apple should have realized that this would be a likely consequence. It's not like they were suing Franklin or another Apple-clone/compatible maker. They have exceeded themselves in this case and are behaving frivolously and made themselves a big giant target. They will lose and lose badly.
Re:Proxy wars (Score:0, Interesting)
Is that the freetarded white-washed version of their history where we still believe that they "do no evil" or the one in which they have routinely crushed smaller competitors or bought them out so that they didn't have any competion? Ironically, no different acting than Microsoft back in the 90s during their anti-trust days.
Cold war turns hot (Score:5, Interesting)
For a lot of years all the tech companies, but particularly the phone manufacturers, have existed in a state of what they believed was mutually assured destruction. After all, the products did have to be compatible on at least a basic level for there to be a market at all. So almost all patents were either cross-licensed or available under RAND terms.
Apple has since entered the market and really kicked over the wasp's nest. They had no long term investment in past patents and gradual product development. So they came onto the scene with the iPhone 1, licensed all the basic standards and then refused to cross-license with anyone.
Because apparently they believe that the situation is not mutually assured destruction. So the war has gone from a cold one to a hot one.
It's arguable who started the actual legal battles. Nokia and Motorola were dicking around with patents that were supposed to be under RAND terms for standards reasons in order to try and force Apple to cross-license their patents. Apple has been on the warpath about their multi-touch and design IP.
It will be interesting to see if Apple can get out of this without some form of mandatory cross-licensing being imposed. If they can it should be a very interesting shake-up. It would be the first time in the phone industry that a major company would be using their patents to secure limited monopoly of developments instead of simply being a legal bargaining chip.
Re:Live by the sword... (Score:2, Interesting)
Did you completely miss the point of this article? Of course Apple is going to try to defend its intellectual property. It's been through this before with Microsoft ripping them off in the 80s and especially the 90s. The news is that Google is suing over patents using a proxy company, something they have always been defended as not doing.
Re:Proxy wars (Score:4, Interesting)
Because of their history of stealing other peoples work and calling it their own; where as Apple comes up with original designs
Fixed it for you.
FAIL "We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas." -Steve Jobs [wikiquote.org]
FAIL "Good artists copy; great artists steal." -Steve Jobs [wikiquote.org]
Re:How the hell are they Google patents? (Score:1, Interesting)
When Apple sued and ran all the Apple II clone producers out of the market back in that era, they got away with it.
When Apple sued all the GUI developers, driving all of them out of the market except Microsoft (and incidentally forcing the market to embrace either their or Microsoft's GUI- sorry about destroying the GEM desktop etc., Apple drove us all into Microsoft's arms) they got away with that too.
Apple builds up around themselves a cult-like customer base. Do you really think that when the Media and the Government persecuted Reverend Moon, it causes the Moonies to drop out of their religion? Does government investigation of Scientology cause their membership leave? No, they cling to their churches, as Apple customers cling to theirs.
Re:Live by the sword... (Score:3, Interesting)
Reading back through your posting history (I thought I recognised the name) I see almost every one of your posts is anti-Google, and you're slavishly supportive of Apple and Microsoft. Why is that?