[quote](Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd infringed a key portion of an Apple Inc patent by [B]including a text-selection feature[/B] in its smartphones and tablets, an International Trade Commission judge said in a preliminary decision.[/quote]
[quote]Samsung is also a parts supplier to Apple, producing micro processors, flat screens and memory chips for the iPhone, iPad and iPod. Apple has reduced orders from Samsung for chips and screens.[/quote]
[url]http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/05/us-apple-samsung-patent-idUSBRE9340NI20130405[/url]
As usual, this is ridiculous.
The patent system still needs a lot of work and it's gotten none, this is going to keep happening until it does.
I don't get it, what's the actual patent? What exactly about text-selection does Apple hold a patent to? Touch screens in general? The tap-and-hold thing?
[QUOTE=Unisath;40191125]I don't get it, what's the actual patent? What exactly about text-selection does Apple hold a patent to? Touch screens in general? The tap-and-hold thing?[/QUOTE]
If it's tap and hold then microsoft and every other phone OS maker in the world is up for fines, unless MS and apple have an agreement
A simple function like this shouldn't even be worth the ban.
[QUOTE=NeoAznMan;40191191]A simple function like this shouldn't even be worth the ban.[/QUOTE]
Welcome to the world of patents.
Apple: "Sir, we have something to sh"
Judge: "More patent crap?"
Apple: "how did you know?!"
Judge: "just a guess, put it in the pile"
[QUOTE=Vodkavia;40191346]Patent systems weren't designed by and not designed for creative people. It was created by men in suites for corporations seeking profits and control no matter who they walked all over.
Welcome to the government designed by business men.[/QUOTE]
That's not strictly true; patents were invented to promote innovation because a "pure" form of capitalism would all but make it untenable.
Intellectual property (IP) is a strange concept as conventional wisdom would suggest that a resource with no natural scarcity (ideas) shouldn't belong to anyone. IP was created to encourage individuals and businesses to invest time and money into creating ideas that the nation can benefit from; without those protections another company can just come in and take the idea at no cost to them so the first-to-market advantage is lost. Without IP laws you get stuck in a technological stalemate.
That's not to say current IP laws are good. Many patents are given out for trivial ideas or for incremental improvements on existing technology. Some people argue that software patents in general are a bad idea; I'm inclined to agree with them.
As it is, most of the major players in the electronics industry are wasting billions of dollars on legal battles that don't benefit the consumer. The Apple and Samsung disputes are just some of the more spectacular scenes we tend to hear about.
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