“Dumb and Dangerous”

By  |  Friday, March 5, 2010 at 12:43 pm

Good piece by Slate’s Farhad Manjoo on why Apple’s patent suit against HTC just isn’t a good idea for anyone involved.

Manjoo mentions another patent squabble I’d forgotten about: Creative’s case against Apple over the iPod, which resulted in a settlement that had Apple pay $100 million to Creative. (When I first used an iPod my immediate reaction was this: “Hey, the interface is a lot like the one on my Creative Nomad Jukebox–except not as powerful!”) Let’s face it: For all of Apple’s ingenuity, it’s borrowed copiously from competitors, too…

 
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  1. Mike Cerm Says:
    March 5th, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    I could not agree more with Manjoo’s article about the situation. Since Apple is not one to license its own technology to competitors, it will be very interesting to see if this goes to court. I can’t see them settling, but I also can’t imagine they’d want to see a real verdict, either.
    Apple made some legitimate advances with the iPhone, but a ruling from a judge would almost certainly leave some of their patents invalidated, while upholding others. Is it really to Apple’s benefit to see which is which?

    Moreover, if this is just a stepping-stone to suing everyone, what’s going to happen when they sue Microsoft and Palm? HTC may not have the patent-portfolio for a mutually-assured-destruction counter-suit, but Microsoft and Palm do, and Apple is certainly infringing something. (Whether Palm has the cash to litigate for the next 10 years is another issue.)

    It’s all such an annoying distraction, and it’s going to have a HUGE chilling-effect on all of the hand-held electronics market. What all these companies should be doing is working on making great products and innovating, not just quibbling over who had which idea first, when really, none of them did.

  2. william Says:
    March 5th, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    Sorry to correct you, but this patent suit is a very good thing for two parties involved: the lawyers on both sides.

  3. IcyFog Says:
    March 6th, 2010 at 10:16 am

    Why aren’t the Nokia and Creative lawsuites against Apple perceived as bad as the Apple lawsuit against HTC?
    And given that Apple had to pay Creative, this Apple vs HTC one should be a slam dunk for Apple.

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    […] “Dumb and Dangerous” Published: March 5, 2010 Source: Technologizer Good piece by Slate’s Farhad Manjoo on why Apple’s patent suit against HTC just isn’t a good idea for anyone involved. Manjoo mentions another patent squabble I’d forgotten about: Creative’s case agai… […]