4 ms·

> Trying to bully the competition with purchased patents and lawyers will only turn people off their products Actually, I doubt it will, as very few people car

by cbg0 14y ago

> Trying to bully the competition with purchased patents and lawyers will only turn people off their products Actually, I doubt it will, as very few people care about the rivalry between large corporations. Apple even started suing mom & pop cafes that had the apple logo or just the word "Apple" in their name, and even that didn't hurt their image much.

user49598 14y ago
If that's true, I don't think a lot of people know about it.
- rmk2 14y ago
  For your reading pleasure: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/computerkonzern-verklagt-bonner-cafe-wehe-sie-veraeppeln-apples-apfel-1.1173840 http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/computerkonzern-verkla... [süddeutsche.de -> in german] http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111026-38449.html http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111026-38449.html [thelocal.de] http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/apple-wants-a-german-cafe-to-stop-using-this-logo-20111021/ http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/apple-wants-a-german-cafe... [geek.com] Everything except the first link are the product of looking for English reports on the same issue, so I do not vouche for their quality.
  - MaysonL 14y ago
    The trademark arguably [arguably, not obviously] infringes on Apple's trademark, and one of the peculiarities of trademark law is that if you do not vigorously defend a trademark, it's scope and strength diminish.
SODaniel 14y ago
Short term yes. Though I think we all remember Microsoft walking down the same path and basically paving the way for Apple to become 'the underdog' in the 90s and it sure hasn't helped their public image.
- dannyr 14y ago
  This is true in Silicon Valley's startup world. A lot of people here dislike Microsoft. It's hard to find a startup built on the .Net stack. Microsoft has the BizSpark program that gives away software licenses for free to startups but that didn't make a difference. I'm starting to see the same sentiment against Apple though not yet to a point that they will be abandoning development on the iOS platform.
- ajross 14y ago
  Right. Ultimately Microsoft's perceived opposition to the evolving open internet hurt it's perception among developers very badly. Where in the early 90's "everyone" wanted to work for MS and develop windows, by the end of the decade everyone wanted to be working with web apps and JS and Linux. Fast forward to today, and they're just another software company with no particular technical leadership ability. Right now, the Apple bandwagon is still really full, so it may be hard to tell: but I'm seeing more smart hackers jumping off than on these days. In 10 years, how likely is it that Apple will be just another dinosaur milking a legacy OS?
eridius 14y ago
What does trademark protection (which they are legally required to do) have to do with patents?

by cbg0 14y ago

user49598 14y ago

If that's true, I don't think a lot of people know about it.

rmk2 14y ago
For your reading pleasure: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/computerkonzern-verklagt-bonner-cafe-wehe-sie-veraeppeln-apples-apfel-1.1173840 http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/computerkonzern-verkla... [süddeutsche.de -> in german] http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111026-38449.html http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111026-38449.html [thelocal.de] http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/apple-wants-a-german-cafe-to-stop-using-this-logo-20111021/ http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/apple-wants-a-german-cafe... [geek.com] Everything except the first link are the product of looking for English reports on the same issue, so I do not vouche for their quality.
- MaysonL 14y ago
  The trademark arguably [arguably, not obviously] infringes on Apple's trademark, and one of the peculiarities of trademark law is that if you do not vigorously defend a trademark, it's scope and strength diminish.

SODaniel 14y ago

Short term yes. Though I think we all remember Microsoft walking down the same path and basically paving the way for Apple to become 'the underdog' in the 90s and it sure hasn't helped their public image.

dannyr 14y ago
This is true in Silicon Valley's startup world. A lot of people here dislike Microsoft. It's hard to find a startup built on the .Net stack. Microsoft has the BizSpark program that gives away software licenses for free to startups but that didn't make a difference. I'm starting to see the same sentiment against Apple though not yet to a point that they will be abandoning development on the iOS platform.
ajross 14y ago
Right. Ultimately Microsoft's perceived opposition to the evolving open internet hurt it's perception among developers very badly. Where in the early 90's "everyone" wanted to work for MS and develop windows, by the end of the decade everyone wanted to be working with web apps and JS and Linux. Fast forward to today, and they're just another software company with no particular technical leadership ability. Right now, the Apple bandwagon is still really full, so it may be hard to tell: but I'm seeing more smart hackers jumping off than on these days. In 10 years, how likely is it that Apple will be just another dinosaur milking a legacy OS?

eridius 14y ago

What does trademark protection (which they are legally required to do) have to do with patents?