Apple sues HTC for infringing 20 Patents...

[skplex]

Here we go again...

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/a...phone-patents/

My 2 cents ...

Jobs and Fruit team see a viable threat as they did with Nokia and are trying to stifle the competition's resources with litigation to prevent release of devices... we'll see where this goes. According to industry insiders there is a number of possible countersuits by HTC. However in the end, consumers lose as these lawsuits can potentailly suspend devices from being released to the public until litigation is settled.

Anyone else heated up about this?

-skplex

(Oh and sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum, but I didn't see a general HTC forum)

[Mojary]

wow...anyone else smelling the road to monopoly?!?! reminds of of those times about 10 years ago when microsoft sued everyone just for breathing. one of the complaint is that htc stole the multi-touch feature which apple has patented. so now, even if other manufacturers create a multi-touch program for mobile devices, apple will swoop down on them and say their patent was stolen? let's look at it this way. if the maker patented james bond, that means that no spy movies/stories could be made (bye bye mission impossible and mr bourne).

[p-slim]

Correct the customer does loose out but if HTC is stealing patents then apple does have a right to complain. Wouldn't you complain if it was your company getting your patents stolen or would you say steal my patents and my customers? I don't understand your point op.

[Mojary]

i agree with you p-slim about us as consumers are ultimately to losers in these things. but what i don't get is why was the patent approved? i would understand if they copyrighted the thing. but getting it patent basically means that nobody can create/write a similar product. doesn't having a patent mean that now only apple can be the only device that can have the multi-touch feature on phones?

[p-slim]

Originally Posted by Mojary

i agree with you p-slim about us as consumers are ultimately to losers in these things. but what i don't get is why was the patent approved? i would understand if they copyrighted the thing. but getting it patent basically means that nobody can create/write a similar product. doesn't having a patent mean that now only apple can be the only device that can have the multi-touch feature on phones?

Why only HTC? Samsung moment and Motorola Droid have multi touch? Maybe theirs is coming. I'll be honest, the music player on the hd2 does resemble the itouch.

[Mojary]

maybe jobs is worried that each year there are better phones coming out that is leaving th iphone in the dust. and he must now collect his company's losses by trying to get royalty fees.

[skplex]

@p-slim

I agree that if there is a legitimate patent dispute that "team fruit" (obviously I am indeed biased against Apple) has every right to proceed. However, I do find it to be quite "suspect" as to the timing of these lawsuits. Although news has not been released as to the details of all the infringements; I am assuming one of the key ones will be multitouch. HTC has been releasing multitouch devices for quite some time now; why is the lawsuit coming at the same time when HTC is about to release an onslaught of devices? Then again it could just be coincidence or perhaps they finally got everything in order for the lawsuit.

Asides from the obvious multitouch patent; there are others which are just vague and have been done before... Apple attempts to patent having contacts on the home screen of a phone?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/14/a...en-patent-but/

Just some more info... in respect to stopping products reaching end users...

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/16/a...-nokia-phones/

-skplex

[hoodracer]

i honestly dont see how they infringed on hardware when they dont even have any similar hardware, unless a capacitive screen cant be used on a mobile device but other than that they dont have any grounds on that accusation.

[sanjsrik]

I read this interesting blog the other day about why is it everyone sues MS for monopoly but no one sues apple? think about it, from the software, to the end-user, they control ALL the streams of delivery AND the extraneous applications (read CRAppStore) delivered to end-users. Isn't that a monopoly? How come there's no suit to force them to let outsiders make applications for the icrap line and let them be installed independently of the CRAppstore?

[p-slim]

i think apple just wants their name in the press, I don't think htc will actually pull any phones off the shelf.