Apple vs. ... Hollywood?

via GIZMODO: Samsung Cites 2001: A Space Odyssey Against Apple in Greatest Legal Defense of All Time (Updated):

Apple is giving Samsung a legal pummelingbecause it thinks the latter stole the iPad's design for the Galaxy Tab. So far, the fight's going well for Apple. But Samsung has something up its sleeve: Apple ripped off science fiction.

[... Samsung argues] the idea for the iPad existed back in 1968, when Stanley Kubrick dreamed up his sci fi classic. And in American patent law, if the idea existed before your patent application—what's known as prior art—your patent is null. So essentially, Samsung is pulling a hell of a legal maneuver here, alleging they couldn't possibly have stolen the iPad's design, because Apple took it from an imaginary science fiction movie space station:

Check out the clip from 2001: A Space Odyssey:



Looks like a couple of iPads to me! More proof of the oncoming Terminator Apocalypse ... i.e., iPad = Hal = evil computer = death to all humans. It's pretty self-explanatory.

Google’s notification bar patent could spell trouble for Apple

via AndroidAndMe.com:

Google’s notification bar patent could spell trouble for Apple:

Since Google doesn't own the patent to the notification bar yet, they can’t do anything but sit back and watch Apple use it in all of their most popular devices. 


It will be interesting to see what Google does with the patent should they manage to secure it. Will they immediately take Apple to court, or would using it as leverage in other patent negotiations make more sense? This will definitely be worth keeping an eye on.


I bet Apple wishes it could go back to the good ol' days where all they needed was a Justin Long commercial to establish market dominance. Seriously though, let's just stop the pissing match and go back to making great products that everyone wants but no one actually needs. OK?

Google files for patent to combat Apple’s Slide to Unlock

via AndroidAndMe.com:

Google files for patent to combat Apple’s Slide to Unlock:

In an attempt to circumvent Apple’s hotly-debated Slide To Unlock patent [see below], which has resulted in a few lawsuits with many more likely on the way, Google has filed a patent of their own for a lockscreen that looks fairly similar to the one found in HTC’s Sense UI.
...
This does not mean that we’ll ever see Google’s lockscreen see the light of day, and the patent office could reject it as being too similar to Apple’s previously granted patent on slide to unlock. I’m no lawyer, but I reckon the likelihood of Google being denied the patent is slim, and this may very well be the lockscreen featured in Android 5.0 (or 4.1), which may or may not debut as early as next quarter.

I am a lawyer and I can't help thinking that this whole smartphone patent war is getting out of control. 


Prediction: all of these patents become absurdly irrelevant as more and more independent, open source developers (think App Store or Android Market programmers) take UI design into their own hands. For instance, I have an HTC Android phone (recently, happily jumped off the Apple bandwagon), and I can download custom lock screens for free from the Android Market. Many of these are free and were designed by independent programmers, presumably working out of a basement with one hand on the keyboard and the other in a bag of Cheetos.  Some of these lock screens blatantly mimic the iPhone, ICS, HTC Sense, etc.  Let's say Apple wins the fight over the slide-to-unlock patent. Are they going to sue just Google? Just Google and the OEMs? Are they gonna sue the guy/gal in the basement too?


Now, before someone reacts to this by saying that I'm being too hard on Apple and letting Google off the hook, please see this. Google is on the "right side of history" here, embracing open source and acquiring patents to defend its Android OS from Apple's proprietary iOS, which has become the "Microsoft" of the new millennium.  

Apple lands injunction against Motorola in Germany over Slide to Unlock patent

via AndroidAndMe.com:

Apple lands injunction against Motorola in Germany over Slide to Unlock patent:

You remember that Slide to Unlock patent Apple was handed back in October? Turns out the lawsuits are going to get uglier, if a victory secured by Apple in Germany today is any indication. According to FOSS Patents, the Munich I Regional Court just issued an injunction against Motorola smartphones in Germany, finding that Motorola does indeed violate Apple’s patent on slide to unlock technology with the lockscreen in their Gingerbread UI overlay.

The ruling covers traditional Motorola phones that feature the slide to unlock feature, but not on Motorola’s Xoom tablet, which utilizes the circular unlock feature found in Android 3.0 Honeycomb and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Motorola will likely appeal the decision, opening the door for Apple to re-challenge the circular unlock feature found in the newest Google operating systems. If a higher court rules that even the circular unlock feature is in violation of Apple’s patent, it could spell trouble for Motorola (and Google), which will need to come up with a different methodology for unlocking a device from the lockscreen, or do away with the lockscreen altogether.

We’re sure the scope of the slide to unlock patent infringement cases will spread over coming months, and expect we’ll see some more cases in the U.S. before too long (as you recall, Apple filed suit against the Galaxy Nexus - and Android 4.0 - just a few days ago). If the ruling out of Germany is any indication, it spells potential trouble for Google’s Android OS. We will, of course, bring you more patent news as the cases develop.

Apple vs Ice Cream Sandwich

Apple seeks preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the U.S.

The post-Jobs Apple Empire.

Motorola beats Apple in court; iPhones and iPads banned temporarily in Germany

via AndroidandMe.com:

Motorola beats Apple in court; iPhones and iPads banned temporarily in Germany:


"We have something special for your daily flurry of lawsuit news. We usually see Cupertino Giant messing with all the little boys in the playground. Today, Motorola has taken a big swing at Apple, winning a permanent injunction in Germany. This forced Apple to pull most of its devices from its online store (you could still find them at stores) for a while."


The Smart-Phone Wars Rage On!!


I have to say I think Apple had this coming. They have made some amazing, world-changing products. That doesn't mean they get to have a monopoly. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but, for now, I'm enjoying the transition from Apple to Google and the open source movement.