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They've patented the hell out of everything that they've done in the last decade with the iPhone, but the very foundations that they stand on have been patented
by buro9 14y ago
They've patented the hell out of everything that they've done in the last decade with the iPhone, but the very foundations that they stand on have been patented the hell out of by Motorola, Ericsson, Nokia, etc for the decades prior.
Standing on someone else's foundations isn't the best place from which to start a thermonuclear patent war.
- pkulak 14y agoIf you have enough lawyers it is. You can do anything with enough money and lawyers.
- ralfn 14y agoIn other worss: the justice system is no longer a monopoly of the state on violence. But a for hire entity, where the highest bidder can buy their preferred form of "justice" This is not a good development, and we can wonder how long it will take before the bric countries choose a radical new direction towards IP.
- astrodust 14y agoIf it's decades then you're in the clear since patents have a more finite lifespan than copyright. The initial iPhone patents only have another ten years or so left in them, if that.
- keithpeter 14y agoEspecially as the people you are aiming your thermonuclear weapons at happen to be part of your supply chain (or trading closely with them)
- tedunangst 14y agoBut if those patents are part of necessary standards, they're required to license them to Apple. Apple is not required to license any of its UI patents to competitors.
- andyman1080 14y agoHow are you equating standards essential 3G patents to software UI? They don't really have any correlation whatsoever.