Samsung sales blocked in US by Apple

[NickS VR4]

No Sales of Galaxy Nexus in US -- for Now | PCWorld (http://www.pcworld.com/article/258637/no_sales_of_galaxy_nexus_in_us_for_now.html)

So many things anger me about Apple's business practice. I really don't know who to be mad at though. Apple for filing ridiculous patents, the patent office for granting them, or the Judge for issuing this ban. On top of that, the court date isn't set until 2014. The GNex was set to be the first to receive Android Jelly Bean (4.1).

In addition, the Galaxy SIII is trying to be blocked, and if that happens, it won't be very good.

So this article below basically threw out the case w/ prejudice and said that they could not come back to trial. Since the software is the issue on hand, isn't this almost like a precedent? Since it is Google's software found to be the violator of the patents, and this Judge threw out the case. He also goes on to criticize the patent office and says that since software is an evolution of code that is constantly building on existing code, therefor should not be subject to patents.

Crovitz: 'Silly' Apple and Google - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303649504577496991190742010.html)

Anyhow, just very frustrated, and although I used to suggest iPhones and iPads to certain people in the past, never again.

Way to slow down innovation Apple :best::GoogleSign:

[MeTarzan]

OMG another reason why I hate Apple so badly...cant wait to get my S III if it ever gets released...

[onebadmollafolla]

No Sales of Galaxy Nexus in US -- for Now | PCWorld (http://www.pcworld.com/article/258637/no_sales_of_galaxy_nexus_in_us_for_now.html)

So many things anger me about Apple's business practice. I really don't know who to be mad at though. Apple for filing ridiculous patents, the patent office for granting them, or the Judge for issuing this ban. On top of that, the court date isn't set until 2014. The GNex was set to be the first to receive Android Jelly Bean (4.1).

In addition, the Galaxy SIII is trying to be blocked, and if that happens, it won't be very good.

So this article below basically threw out the case w/ prejudice and said that they could not come back to trial. Since the software is the issue on hand, isn't this almost like a precedent? Since it is Google's software found to be the violator of the patents, and this Judge threw out the case. He also goes on to criticize the patent office and says that since software is an evolution of code that is constantly building on existing code, therefor should not be subject to patents.

Crovitz: 'Silly' Apple and Google - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303649504577496991190742010.html)

Anyhow, just very frustrated, and although I used to suggest iPhones and iPads to certain people in the past, never again.

Way to slow down innovation Apple :best::GoogleSign:

I have seen a lot of people coming upset with Apple over this very reason. Apple is considered the drama queen of the tech world. Kind of slow, little behind on technology, and constantly throwing a tantrum. I actually got a few people that were upset with Apple out of their iPhones just yesterday. :)

[stealthify]

Sadly, Apple isn't the only one playing this game. The patent system is broken has been broken for awhile, and everyone in the industry knows it. It's only when one company beats another to an obvious patent that the other company gets all short breathed and red faced about it.

You question who is to blame, and I say they all deserve a bit of the blame. Yes, even Apple. But that's not to say Apple didn't try alternate techniques with Samsung before it came to this:

Steve Jobs Started Talks With Samsung About Patent Dispute, Director Says - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-29/steve-jobs-pushed-talks-with-samsung-to-address-patent-dispute.html) (2011)

And not just then, but recently one-on-one between the two new CEOs (hoping for a new era sans-Jobs):

iOnApple: Tim Cook and Samsung CEO meet in San Francisco in effort to settle patent disputes (http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/tim-cook-and-samsung-ceo-meet-san-francisco-effort-settle-patent-disputes) (2012)

Over the last few years it has become clear that businesses have forgone innovation in exchange for litigative retaliation. It has become a battle of who has the most ridiculous patents; Apple makes a plethora of patent requests of concepts that "may" or "may not" become real products. Google buys a mountain of patents from Motorola to the tune of $12.5 million (http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2011/08/google-to-buy-motorola-in-effort-to-defend-itself-from-patent-bullies/). Microsoft sues Google (http://www.examiner.com/article/microsoft-sues-google-over-android-os-patent-infringements) for infringing on their already large collection of patents. That is where the gold is: patents, patents, patents.

The better YOU are at making patents that OTHERS will need years down the road, the more money YOU will make off licensing and stifling the competition. No business in the tech industry is excluded, it's just that some businesses are better than others at predicting where this road is going.

As for the Motorola vs Apple patent trial, the judge did dismiss the case with prejudice. He claimed that both sides were being ridiculous, which was probably true (from everything I've read). Both sides had patents that the other side wanted, but both of them wanted to charge licensing fees that were MORE than the current licensors were paying. Motorola's patents were considered fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory standard patents (FRAND), while Apple's patents were non-FRAND and had fewer licensing requirements. And Motorola is no stranger to wielding their FRAND patents at other tech giants like Microsoft, attempting to force them to pay them for every Xbox sale or face a ban on Xboxes and other Microsoft products (http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/tech-industry/3367257/itc-review-xbox-ban-recommendation-in-microsoft-motorola-case/). It's like a bunch of snotty-nosed kids fighting on the playground over sharing, it's ridiculous.

I could go on, especially about Judge Posner's comments about how code should be un-patentable, but I'll leave it at that for now. It's all pretty unbearable.

[MeTarzan]

Actually the money is IMPROVING what others have already patented. There is the problem, all the companies use each others ideas as a base and make minor changes to them to make them their own and in turn patenting that idea.

[stealthify]

Actually the money is IMPROVING what others have already patented. There is the problem, all the companies use each others ideas as a base and make minor changes to them to make them their own and in turn patenting that idea.

That is indeed the name of the game. But the problem is also that some companies aren't changing it ENOUGH. Just about every innovation out there is based on someone else's previous idea; later improved upon, switched around, made better, etc. But when a company doesn't care to invest the money or time in really re-working it, that's when these cases are bound to come up.

[UTRacerX9]

Is the Nexus available in other countries?

[NickS VR4]

Is the Nexus available in other countries?

I would assume so.

[Alan92RTTT]

The bigent problem I have with apple(and MS) is who they are taking to court.

If the issue is a specic companies modifications, take them to court. But stop taking them to court over stock android functionality. If you thik its your code go after the people that infringed not the perople using it.

[stealthify]

I agree with you for the most part, Alan.

If anyone has the time and wants to know more, here is a good website that helps break down and put patent law into layman's terms: FOSS Patents (http://www.fosspatents.com/)

[NickS VR4]

If You Can't Innovate, Litigate - Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/07/02/if-you-cant-innovate-litigate/)

How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/05/rockstar/)

[NickS VR4]

http://i.imgur.com/M10Uj.jpg

[stealthify]

As I said before, companies steal from eachother all the time. Google is not immune, nor is Microsoft or Apple.

As a feature becomes a 'must have', others will flock to copy it. Let the courts work it out.

[Mikes2nd]

these linux nerds are in denial... omg google never sues... or steals...

they seem to think they can take whatever they want, until you take their stuff.

[NickS VR4]

these linux nerds are in denial... omg google never sues... or steals...

they seem to think they can take whatever they want, until you take their stuff.

Its not so much that. Its more proving a point that each system may share ideas, but don't need to go to court when its such simple things. Apple/Jobs accused Android of being stolen, and has stated "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours." Apple just needs to look in the mirror from time to time.

[stealthify]

Its not so much that. Its more proving a point that each system may share ideas, but don't need to go to court when its such simple things.

This is why you're having difficulty with the concept of patents. You can't patent an idea, but rather you patent an implementation, process and/or composition of matter on how to make that idea a reality.

And to most, this point falls on deaf ears -- including the person that made your unnecessarily oversized infographic.

Furthermore, just picking the notifications point as an example, is that it fails to mention that Google does not currently own the patent for the notification window. They applied for it, but it hasn't been approved and could still very well be denied. That is what enabled Apple (and even Palm, previously) to create their own versions of a notification center and not have a new trial on their hands (or else, trust me, Google probably would have tried to shut them down by now -- anything to kill the competition or generate more licensing revenue, all around).

And that is where these situations differ. Apple has been granted the patents they are currently fighting to keep. They're not in limbo, and until the patents are revoked, Apple is obligated to fight for them or else they WILL lose them. Patents are an asset, and no company would give them up without a fight.

[Mikes2nd]

google is suing also. It barely has any patents to use though...

[Jenkins]

Im learning a lot about the patent wars thanks to stealthify. My question is if apple has a patent that's not ridiculous and the G Nexus infringed the patent, then what's all the hub hub about? If the situation was bogus wouldn't the judge toss the case? The situation sucks because the Gnexus is a really cool phone but if it breaks the rules is that ok?

[stealthify]

Im learning a lot about the patent wars thanks to stealthify. My question is if apple has a patent that's not ridiculous and the G Nexus infringed the patent, then what's all the hub hub about? If the situation was bogus wouldn't the judge toss the case? The situation sucks because the Gnexus is a really cool phone but if it breaks the rules is that ok?

In the case with Samsung, the judge (Judge Lucy Koh), maintained that the G Nexus violated existing and valid patents. The ban, for the time being, is only until Samsung and Google work together to work around the infringements. This isn't to say that Samsung has to remove a "feature" or "idea" and make it an inferior product so to speak, but rather that they have to find a new way to implement the feature that doesn't look/act so close to the way Apple did it in their existing patents. As it stands now, Google is working with Samsung to fix this so that the G Nexus can go back on sale:

Google and Samsung apply patch to get around Galaxy Nexus ban - Digital Life - Digital Life | siliconrepublic.com - Ireland's Technology News Service (http://www.siliconrepublic.com/digital-life/item/28115-google-and-samsung-apply/)

From there, they will challenge the validity of the patents. If they succeed, the patents will be nullified and other mobile operating systems can do with it as they please.

As far as the Motorola vs Apple case, the judge (Judge Posner) basically acknowledged that the patents were valid, but asserted that the companies should just license their patents and get on with it. The problem, however, is that the patents Motorola accused Apple of infringing are considered "standards" of the mobile phone industry (think: connecting via 3G), and therefore require reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing (see: FRAND (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_and_non-discriminatory_licensing)). With that in said, Motorola was not being reasonable and non-discriminatory and was instead trying to charge Apple MORE than everyone else in order to keep using the technology. Had Motorola agreed to charge Apple the same as everyone else, Apple has gone on the record saying that they would have gladly licensed the patents. Motorola refused, and now they're gridlocked.

That's where things stand now.

[Jenkins]

So if Google and Samsung are being a given a chance to right their wrong and this ban isn't permanent then I really don't know why everyone is getting upset. Thanks for the clear explanations stealthify.