4 ms·

I suggest you actually go read through Apple's patents before arguing about them. They didn't file a design patent for the entire device. Instead, as you browse

I suggest you actually go read through Apple's patents before arguing about them. They didn't file a design patent for the entire device. Instead, as you browse through their collection, you see page after page of patents for tiny features like those I listed. A type of modal window, for example: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=dLnlAAAAEBAJ&dq=7,853,891 http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=dLnlAAAAEBAJ&dq=7... I literally laughed as I read through some of them, because I've definitely unknowingly violated many. It's impossible not to step on the toes of overly broad software patents.

dman 15y ago
I think the time is ripe for doing some civil disobedience about software and design patents.
mayanksinghal 15y ago
I think I read this on an HN thread itself, but browsing through patents in a field that related to you is not a good idea.
fpgeek 15y ago
Your comment is even more impressive because you (and/or Hacker News) violated an Apple patent in your comment above. See Apple's lawsuit against HTC - matching text patterns and turning them into clickable actions is patented by Apple.
- dexen 15y ago
  Almost, but not quite: the patent in question refers to a mobile device. See the huge difference? It matters in patent law.
  - fpgeek 15y ago
    Here's the patent in question (from the USPTO): http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,946,647.PN.&OS=PN/5,946,647&RS=PN/5,946,647 http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sec... The word "mobile" does not appear anywhere within it. In fact, Apple's implementation example is a Power Macintosh. If you consider that any sort of mobile device... well, your back is a lot stronger than mine at the very least.
- Pewpewarrows 15y ago
  Wow, I must have missed that while browsing through them. Excellent find.
  - fpgeek 15y ago
    As a happy user of HTC Android phones, I've been following the HTC case with some interest. After HTC's setback at the ITC, I decided to take a look at the patents in question and was appalled. Since then, I've been banging this particular drum every time these lawsuits come up because it is a perfect example of exactly how broken everything is.

dman 15y ago

I think the time is ripe for doing some civil disobedience about software and design patents.

mayanksinghal 15y ago

I think I read this on an HN thread itself, but browsing through patents in a field that related to you is not a good idea.

fpgeek 15y ago

Your comment is even more impressive because you (and/or Hacker News) violated an Apple patent in your comment above. See Apple's lawsuit against HTC - matching text patterns and turning them into clickable actions is patented by Apple.

dexen 15y ago
Almost, but not quite: the patent in question refers to a mobile device. See the huge difference? It matters in patent law.
- fpgeek 15y ago
  Here's the patent in question (from the USPTO): http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,946,647.PN.&OS=PN/5,946,647&RS=PN/5,946,647 http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sec... The word "mobile" does not appear anywhere within it. In fact, Apple's implementation example is a Power Macintosh. If you consider that any sort of mobile device... well, your back is a lot stronger than mine at the very least.
Pewpewarrows 15y ago
Wow, I must have missed that while browsing through them. Excellent find.
- fpgeek 15y ago
  As a happy user of HTC Android phones, I've been following the HTC case with some interest. After HTC's setback at the ITC, I decided to take a look at the patents in question and was appalled. Since then, I've been banging this particular drum every time these lawsuits come up because it is a perfect example of exactly how broken everything is.