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Yup, used to work for HTC and some of the bullshit that Apple used to pull still pisses me off to this day. Remember the whole "click on a phone-number launch

Yup, used to work for HTC and some of the bullshit that Apple used to pull still pisses me off to this day. Remember the whole "click on a phone-number launch dialer" patent? We pulled the feature in the US phones, following the letter of the law since we lost the suit(back when Apple was going for Mfgrs instead of Google). Apple filed an injunction with Customs right as we went into a huge marketing push for one of our devices. We had millions of phones sitting on the docks while FTC "investigated". 4-5 weeks later it was found that we hadn't violated, Apple never paid any fines and we had a ton of pissed off customers who couldn't get phones. http://www.wired.com/2012/05/apples-patent-win-delays-shipments-of-two-htc-smartphones/ http://www.wired.com/2012/05/apples-patent-win-delays-shipme...

uremog 10y ago
But really how could a patent officer think such a thing is worthy of a patent?
- aserafini 10y ago
  Agreed, this should never have been a patent.
- WildUtah 10y ago
  Patent examiners don't have discretion. The special patent court (CAFC) is filled with patent lawyers that decide cases based on their own personal interest in a more expansive patent system. Except where the Supreme Court reviews their cases, they have total power to set precedents and those precedents always favor trolls over creators and innovators. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/how-a-rogue-appeals-court-wrecked-the-patent-system/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/how-a-rogue-appea...
  - stcredzero 10y ago
    I've traded comments with those guys on reddit. They live in a completely different reality. And people said Steve Jobs had a "reality distortion field." He had nothing on those guys.
    - vec 10y ago
      Do you have any examples? I completely believe you, but I'd love to know exactly which flavor of mass delusion we're dealing with.
      - stcredzero 10y ago
        I'd have to do some search-fu in my reddit comment history. What I remember of it, is that the trolly-vagueness of patent claims is entirely necessary for the system to work as well as it does, and that the patent system is a well-honed machine essential to the proper functioning of our economy.
        oblio 10y ago
        This might help: http://redditcommentsearch.com/ http://redditcommentsearch.com/

uremog 10y ago

But really how could a patent officer think such a thing is worthy of a patent?

aserafini 10y ago
Agreed, this should never have been a patent.
WildUtah 10y ago
Patent examiners don't have discretion. The special patent court (CAFC) is filled with patent lawyers that decide cases based on their own personal interest in a more expansive patent system. Except where the Supreme Court reviews their cases, they have total power to set precedents and those precedents always favor trolls over creators and innovators. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/how-a-rogue-appeals-court-wrecked-the-patent-system/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/how-a-rogue-appea...
- stcredzero 10y ago
  I've traded comments with those guys on reddit. They live in a completely different reality. And people said Steve Jobs had a "reality distortion field." He had nothing on those guys.
  - vec 10y ago
    Do you have any examples? I completely believe you, but I'd love to know exactly which flavor of mass delusion we're dealing with.
    - stcredzero 10y ago
      I'd have to do some search-fu in my reddit comment history. What I remember of it, is that the trolly-vagueness of patent claims is entirely necessary for the system to work as well as it does, and that the patent system is a well-honed machine essential to the proper functioning of our economy.
      - oblio 10y ago
        This might help: http://redditcommentsearch.com/ http://redditcommentsearch.com/