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"If the situation was different, Google was successful, and released Android before the original iPhone, they would be the one holding the patents to fight off

by rmrm 15y ago

"If the situation was different, Google was successful, and released Android before the original iPhone, they would be the one holding the patents to fight off competition." I believe (some of) the patents HTC got dinged with were granted before Google or HTC were founded (1996 iirc). Investing more or less, paying attention more or less to mobile or any other kind of patent wouldn't have helped them to not be in violation. Might have helped them to not get challenged, but they would just as surely be in violation. A time machine was required. I realize this is an over-generalization, but it seems to me that any mobile software company (not just OS, but of any kind) must have a license agreement for basically all the patents from Microsoft, Apple, Motorola, and Nokia at a minimum or they can be assured to be in violation of a patent. It is all but guaranteed. Everyone, including those mentioned, certainly violate each others patents.

deleted 15y ago
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- wnoise 15y ago
  The ambiguity is that the law (or at least the system) is unjust. The patent system is supposed to promote innovation by granting a limited monopoly to truly revolutionary ideas, in order to encourage people to spread knowledge of these revolutionary ideas. In practice, almost all software patents are trivial to reproduce by a skilled practitioner of the art, so no knowledge is spread. Enforcing these patents kills competition without any corresponding benefit to society. (The people who have the licenses and rights don't generally care about credit, only money.)
fpgeek 15y ago
BTW, Hacker News (along with many, many others) is (according to Apple) violating an Apple patent right here: http://www.google.com http://www.google.com Yes, Apple claims one of their patents covers recognizing certain kinds of text (e.g. URLs, phone numbers, etc.) and making them clickable actions.

by rmrm 15y ago

deleted 15y ago

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wnoise 15y ago
The ambiguity is that the law (or at least the system) is unjust. The patent system is supposed to promote innovation by granting a limited monopoly to truly revolutionary ideas, in order to encourage people to spread knowledge of these revolutionary ideas. In practice, almost all software patents are trivial to reproduce by a skilled practitioner of the art, so no knowledge is spread. Enforcing these patents kills competition without any corresponding benefit to society. (The people who have the licenses and rights don't generally care about credit, only money.)

fpgeek 15y ago

BTW, Hacker News (along with many, many others) is (according to Apple) violating an Apple patent right here: http://www.google.com http://www.google.com Yes, Apple claims one of their patents covers recognizing certain kinds of text (e.g. URLs, phone numbers, etc.) and making them clickable actions.