4 ms·
If your app is useful and you don't have a patent don't be surprised if Apple copies it instead of buying you out. Moral: Get a patent or get out of Apple's wa
by ansy 15y ago
If your app is useful and you don't have a patent don't be surprised if Apple copies it instead of buying you out.
Moral: Get a patent or get out of Apple's way.
EDIT: To the guys below that say patents don't matter because you can't beat Apple's deep pockets and patent portfolio in court: The patent does matter because after Apple buys you it can beat Google and Microsoft with it in court. Conversely, it doesn't want Google buying you doing the same.
- kenjackson 15y agoMaybe the first time someone gave a reasonable reason why a startup may want to consider getting IP protection on HN. With that said, is there anything stopping Apple from adding terms to their app store requiring you to license their technology to them, w/o limitation, for free? Given the strength of their app store, I could see them doing it if they needed to.
- patrickaljord 15y agoIf you patent it, Apple will look at all the patents your app is infringing and do their app anyway. If you decide to sue them, they'll get back at you with all the patents you're infringing. Remember, patents are only useful for patent trolls (who don't sell software and therefor can't get sued) and for huge companies who have enough patents and money to retaliate.
- kenjackson 15y agoHas that ever happened? I've seen small companies sue large ones -- but I must admit I've never seen a large company retaliate.
- ansy 15y agoRelevant: http://jonathanischwartz.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal/ http://jonathanischwartz.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/good-artis... EDIT: I should clarify it's relevant because of the Kodak case at the bottom. Kodak got away with suing Sun because it was so "small" in the software industry Sun couldn't use any of its own patents defensively to prevent the suit from going to court. Conversely, Apple and Sun never got into a slug-fest because each side infringed on so many of the other's patents that neither side could get an advantage. To get back to my original point, getting a patent will make you an acquisition target. Not because you can sue Apple when it copies you. But because Apple has the pockets to sue Google when it copies you.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- kenjackson 15y agoThanks for the edit. Sometimes context makes all the difference in the world. I deleted my other post that focused on the size of Sun.
- hvs 15y agoAnd be ready to spend money to defend that patent.
- msbarnett 15y agoOr better yet, rather than complaining that your market niche didn't exist, unchanged, in perpetuity, embrace competition and work to differentiate your product and make it better than Apple's offering.
- nickpinkston 15y agoCompletely! People still believe in developing new things and not just trying to patent the market into a corner - right?