4 ms·

This is fantastic news and something I really hope every other major tech company starts to do. Maybe they finally realized that the money they hemorrhage to th

This is fantastic news and something I really hope every other major tech company starts to do. Maybe they finally realized that the money they hemorrhage to their legal departments can be better served elsewhere.

briandh 13y ago
I agree to an extent, but what happens to the smaller tech companies that have few or no patents to cross-license? I fear that if the "patent wars" are ended by cross-licensing agreements between big players, no one influential will be left to push patent reform.
- mfisher87 13y ago
  Fully agree -- no one else has (or rather very few have) the power to get in on this kind of agreement. That will encourage significantly higher barriers to entry, and discourage real systemic patent reform. Does anyone actually think that Google and Samsung won't enforce the shared patents? They'll have immensely more enforcement power, so why wouldn't they? If anything, software patent wars are going to get worse.
  - magicalist 13y ago
    Er, nothing has happened yet. Write back when someone actually sues someone? This doesn't really change anything. It's patent cross-licensing, not some shell company created to house the combined patents. They probably already had a more-limited one for just Android-covering patents.
tvon 13y ago
I don't see what's particularly good about this, it's just an alliance in a series of legal battles.
msoad 13y ago
Apple don't play this game and they have key patents
- josteink 13y ago
  Apple started this war. They are the original billion-dollar patent troll of the mobile industry. If you're supporting them, you are by proxy supporting and funding patent-trolling and global abuse of software-patents. Apple are the reason others have to resolve to (bad) means like this. I'd hardly call them out as an example to follow.
- belgianguy 13y ago
  Rockstar Bidco, owned by Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Ericsson and Blackberry. They use this legal vehicle to create shell companies armed with ex-Nortel patents to attack Android manufacturers and Google itself. So they (Apple) very much play this game, and this evolution can be seen as a response to the threat that Rockstar Bidco poses. Software patents are bad all around: given their infantile lifespan they sure have caused a lot of trouble already and their offensive usage will really hamper anyone not protected by a big company.

briandh 13y ago

I agree to an extent, but what happens to the smaller tech companies that have few or no patents to cross-license? I fear that if the "patent wars" are ended by cross-licensing agreements between big players, no one influential will be left to push patent reform.

mfisher87 13y ago
Fully agree -- no one else has (or rather very few have) the power to get in on this kind of agreement. That will encourage significantly higher barriers to entry, and discourage real systemic patent reform. Does anyone actually think that Google and Samsung won't enforce the shared patents? They'll have immensely more enforcement power, so why wouldn't they? If anything, software patent wars are going to get worse.
- magicalist 13y ago
  Er, nothing has happened yet. Write back when someone actually sues someone? This doesn't really change anything. It's patent cross-licensing, not some shell company created to house the combined patents. They probably already had a more-limited one for just Android-covering patents.

tvon 13y ago

I don't see what's particularly good about this, it's just an alliance in a series of legal battles.

msoad 13y ago

Apple don't play this game and they have key patents

josteink 13y ago
Apple started this war. They are the original billion-dollar patent troll of the mobile industry. If you're supporting them, you are by proxy supporting and funding patent-trolling and global abuse of software-patents. Apple are the reason others have to resolve to (bad) means like this. I'd hardly call them out as an example to follow.
belgianguy 13y ago
Rockstar Bidco, owned by Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Ericsson and Blackberry. They use this legal vehicle to create shell companies armed with ex-Nortel patents to attack Android manufacturers and Google itself. So they (Apple) very much play this game, and this evolution can be seen as a response to the threat that Rockstar Bidco poses. Software patents are bad all around: given their infantile lifespan they sure have caused a lot of trouble already and their offensive usage will really hamper anyone not protected by a big company.