US Patent Office Invalidates Apple's "Rubber Banding" Patent 213
bhagwad writes "The patent that was the cause of so much grief to Samsung in the recently concluded trial with Apple has been tentatively invalidated by the USPTO. The challenge was filed anonymously, but it obviously could have been filed by any smartphone manufacturer. Will this have an effect on further proceedings in the case or perhaps more importantly on the inevitable appeal?"
Wooo (Score:5, Insightful)
Seen this on terminals long ago think they were zerox, while it didnt bounce it did behave like it had weight an friction. Oh I forgot "On a Cell Phone"
Same ol' stuff (Score:5, Insightful)
Why can't this crap happening DURING the trial?
oh dear, uspto..... (Score:4, Insightful)
About time (Score:5, Insightful)
The patent situation has gotten completely out of control. What was once the very capitalist means to inspire and reward creativity is now the very anti-capitalist means to stifle competition and commit lawfare.
The patent system need to be reformed as badly as any government run bureaucracy ever has. It's not just in the US either, these problems are epidemic on a world wide scale. When lawyers become more important in product development than engineers you know the system has reached a crisis point.
Re:oh dear, uspto..... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Finally (Score:2, Insightful)
This is what the rascal Florian Mueller has to say:
I stopped reading there, anything Florian Mueller has to say is irrelevant.
Re:Finally (Score:5, Insightful)
And rather too late. Apple clearly knows that it's idiotic patents won't hold up in the long run. What counts is that a competitor was hamstrung for some period of time. The object of the game isn't to ban products; Apple knows perfectly well that sooner or later the bulk of its patents are going to be rejected. The point is to cripple competition just long enough to release its own products.
The government is afraid of the implications (Score:2, Insightful)
The USPTO, with these bogus patents, is basically creating value out of nothing. I think the reason the gov't won't touch patent reform with a 10 foot pole is that the US economy doesn't produce anything anymore, and the destruction of this bogus value is the destruction of one of the only things the US produces anymore. Its like they think we can hoodwink the world into believing there's a significant value to 1-click and a stupid rubber band GUI effect. Yes, there's some value to these, but right now its grossly inflated by a few orders of magnitude by our broken patent system.
Just because its said loud enough and repeated by policymakers doesn't make it true. The longer this goes on, the more painful the bubble pop is going to be when someone like China stands their ground.
Re:Same ol' stuff (Score:3, Insightful)
Why can't it happen BEFORE the trial is a much better question.
Re:oh dear, uspto..... (Score:4, Insightful)
But isn't that the ideal way to run government? Like a business? Instead of stealing our hard-earned money?
...
I really, really hope that's sarcasm...
If not, I'll make you a deal: I'll get the government to stop "stealing your money," and in return, you stop using the services and infrastructure that "stolen money" pays for.
Re:Finally (Score:5, Insightful)
This is what the rascal Florian Mueller has to say:
I stopped reading there, anything Florian Mueller has to say is irrelevant.
Can somebody please offer a cluebat to the BBC, who keep quoting him as though anything he has to say is worthwhile? Thank you.
Re:Finally (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple genuinely believes Android infringed...
Apple does not genuinely believe anything except that it must defend its margins by fair means or foul.
Re:Finally (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Finally (Score:4, Insightful)
> This rejection means nothing.
It means quite a bit: an invalidated patent cannot be the basis for an injunction.