Another stupid apple patent

0ph0rce0

They will own everything at this rate FFS! :rolleyes:

Apple Now Owns the Page Turn!

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/apple-now-owns-the-page-turn/

phill106

Bet the lads at kindle will have something to say about it...

im invisible

And i was really getting into that book... Oh well

El Guapo!

It's totally ridiculous but to be fair, you can't blame Apple. It's the patent system that's totally wrong and backwards.

0ph0rce0

Dean09 wrote: »

It's totally ridiculous but to be fair, you can't blame Apple. It's the patent system that's totally wrong and backwards.

Well they did apply for it, so I guess you could blame them for being twats too.

El Guapo!

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

Well they did apply for it, so I guess you could blame them for being twats too.

Yeah they may be twats but they're filthy rich twats with great business skills. Who could blame them patenting all this stuff if they can get away with it.

0ph0rce0

I used to be apple mad, always had the latest and greatest :rolleyes: but after seeing the company that they really are i'd rather eat my own **** than buy anything from them again.

When they lost Jobs they lost the plot.

iphone 5 was the biggest let down and they know it, and it seems the only way they want to make money is to try lash the patents together that people have used and invented years ago and sue everyone.

Plenty of brown envelopes in the patent office.

Grayson

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

iphone 5 was the biggest let down and they know it, and it seems the only way they want to make money is to try lash the patents together that people have used and invented years ago and sue everyone.

I'm surprised they didn't try to patent the idea of a bigger phone. Or just bigger.

Richard Hillman

Am i allowed to read the paper this morning?

Real Life

the other companies may step their game up, it seems theyre just sitting back and letting apple take over the world. i dont mind too much though as i sit here on my imac with macbook set up beside me and an iphone.

0ph0rce0

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Am i allowed to read the paper this morning?

As long as your setup is like this underground and there is no one around i'm sure everything will be fine.


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_00lpHF_pvTE/TAnc7s0ahxI/AAAAAAAABj4/1sBGgcNVQbs/s1600/Cave+reading+room.JPG

Mr.Crinklewood

Surprised they haven't tried to late to patent the letter "i".

Solair

I'm going to patent the concept of using paper with numbers printed on it to pay for things. Then I think I'll patent the idea of grinding up grain, mixing it with water and heating it up for a while to produce a type of food.

Seriously though, that interface appeared in lots of other devices and software years (if not decades) before this patent!

I remember using diary applications like Lotus Organiser in the 1990s that had it!!

The US patents system is becoming a complete joke!

Patenting prior art should be illegal and carry heavy penalties if it's done deliberately!

Maximus Alexander

Real Life wrote: »

the other companies may step their game up, it seems theyre just sitting back and letting apple take over the world. i dont mind too much though as i sit here on my imac with macbook set up beside me and an iphone.

Seriously?

Other companies have stepped up their game. Stepped it up so high that Apple can't reach. That's why they're trying to patent everything.

Grayson

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2409669,00.asp

And they attempted to block new york from using a "big apple" logo to describe the big apple.

http://adage.com/article/news/apple-bite-big-apple/126161/

But on the plus side

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation#Apple_v._DOPi:_lower-case_i_use

Real Life

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Seriously?

Other companies have stepped up their game. Stepped it up so high that Apple can't reach. That's why they're trying to patent everything.

sorry i meant with getting things patent before apple get in there

Maximus Alexander

Real Life wrote: »

sorry i meant with getting things patent before apple get in there

Ah, fair enough. It's possible that other companies didn't realise you could be granted a patent for such ridiculous things.

Capt'n Midnight

it looks like the old Lotus organiser interface from alright

aren't there supposed to be roughly 1,000 patents on a smartphone

just a minefield - the main beneficiaries are the lawyers

Zab

Dean09 wrote: »

Who could blame them patenting all this stuff if they can get away with it.

I can

holystungun9

The 'rounded rectangle' patent they have; does Pat the Baker know about this?

Maximus Alexander

holystungun9 wrote: »

The 'rounded rectangle' patent they have; does Pat the Baker know about this?

The best part of it is that a rectangle is a 2D shape, so if that's actually the wording in the patent, it doesn't mean what they think it does.

OneArt

Solair wrote: »

I remember using diary applications like Lotus Organiser in the 1990s that had it!!

Aww I miss Lotus. Great word processor. F*ck you, Word.

woodoo

Don't but their goods. Give someone else a chance.

Its only really america anyway isn't it. Internationally it won't wash.

holystungun9

Zab wrote: »

I can

Glad you didn't go for the puntastic "iCan"

















"iCan" patented and owned by Apple Inc.

ArseLtd

Patents shouldn't exist, they ruin competition. Every asshole on earth should be looking to improve life for humanity not themselves. If you come up with an idea/invention, good man/woman.

PogMoThoin

Yep, once upon a time patents were there to protect and nurture innovation, now they kill it

Allyall

For a Company that started out being sued for infringing trademarks and being let off lightly, then going on to show how little they cared, or how little they respected the patent law by doing this, It makes me wonder how they would treat a similar joke today if was reversed. They are unbelievable. Most of the patents they have, they didn't invent, they found that they hadn't been already patented, so took them. I can't remember the figures, but i think it was something like 65% of their patents.

My name is URL

It's a wonder they haven't tried to patent the process of applying for patents at this stage.

Tin Foil Hat

ArseLtd wrote: »

Patents shouldn't exist, they ruin competition. Every asshole on earth should be looking to improve life for humanity not themselves. If you come up with an idea/invention, good man/woman.

There's a small flaw in your plan? Why would any company spend hundreds of millions on developing products only to be immediately undercut by any number of companies who don't have to spend that money?

However, patenting basic things that have been around for years - basic shapes, simple animations - is absolute bollox.

Zab

I think it's a tough question. On one hand you have a small time inventor, who'll almost always get crushed without a patent because a large company with just take his idea and price/advertise him out of the market. On the other hand you have companies like Apple getting away with frivolous patents that shouldn't have been awarded in the first place and really just serve to stifle innovation.

My name is URL

Dean09 wrote: »

It's totally ridiculous but to be fair, you can't blame Apple. It's the patent system that's totally wrong and backwards.

Just because a system is in need of repair doesn't mean that people have free reign to abuse it before that happens.

The welfare system in this country is in dire need of reform, but those knowingly abusing it right now shouldn't be excused for it.

BlaasForRafa

Allyall wrote: »

For a Company that started out being sued for infringing trademarks and being let off lightly

Not only that but "as a condition of the settlement, Apple Computer agreed not to enter the music business, and Apple Corps agreed not to enter the computer business"

So apple agree not to get into the music business and then along comes Itunes which is one of their biggest sources of revenue.

ScumLord

I don't think they could get a patent like that in Europe. Once something is in the public domain anyone can use it.

TeaAndCake

Patents and the patent war is suffocating the potential for IT startups and innovation. However, I'm not going to blame Apple for trying to position themselves and take advantage of the flawed system, while the system itself remains unaddressed.

As they say, "Hate the game, not the player".

shedweller

They've patented the embedded battery too!
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=27&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=Apple.ASNM.&OS=AN/Apple&RS=AN/Apple

I mean for f....k sake!!!

El Guapo!

My name is URL wrote: »

Just because a system is in need of repair doesn't mean that people have free reign to abuse it before that happens.

The welfare system in this country is in dire need of reform, but those knowingly abusing it right now shouldn't be excused for it.

Very true, but the point still stands that the system itself is broken. People will always try to find loopholes and take advantage of anything they can. It's up to the authorities to ensure the system works in such a way that this can't happen.
I'm not saying what they're doing is right, I'm just saying you can't blame them for doing it if its perfectly legal for them to do so.
For the record I think it's beyond a joke that they're able to patent such stuff.

mikom

Too.....big......for.......their.....boots.

Allyall

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

Not only that but "as a condition of the settlement, Apple Computer agreed not to enter the music business, and Apple Corps agreed not to enter the computer business"

So apple agree not to get into the music business and then along comes Itunes which is one of their biggest sources of revenue.

To think about it hurts..

They thought it funny to (re)name their first entry into music (sound/chimes/whatever) Sosumi. Not sure if everyone knows that story, but it's a pun on "so, sue me."

It's just annoying and confusing, as to where the law actually stands. But if i'm honest, i wouldn't want that sort of practice in any company i'd run.

I may make millions, and prevent myself from making billions...

randylonghorn

Real Life wrote: »

the other companies may step their game up, it seems theyre just sitting back and letting apple take over the world.

Well, it's not as if Gates and Co haven't fought hard enough in other ways to keep all the cookies on their side of the table.

I agree, though, that this is pretty ridiculous.

You need to keep in mind that this is effectively all money down the drain once another company challenges one of their patents.

At most, they'd slow down the release of a competing product by bringing the company to court (I'm thinking Samsung for some reason) but once it actually gets to court, I'd imagine Apple would be laughed out of the building for patenting basic shapes and technologies that have been used for many years by other companies prior to their patent.


Surely owning a shape and a common technology would but them in poor light with regards competition laws and such (not allowed to have a monopoly on a particular market, as far as I know?)

Maximus Alexander

Deleted User wrote: »

You need to keep in mind that this is effectively all money down the drain once another company challenges one of their patents.

At most, they'd slow down the release of a competing product by bringing the company to court (I'm thinking Samsung for some reason) but once it actually gets to court, I'd imagine Apple would be laughed out of the building for patenting basic shapes and technologies that have been used for many years by other companies prior to their patent.


Surely owning a shape and a common technology would but them in poor light with regards competition laws and such (not allowed to have a monopoly on a particular market, as far as I know?)

This sounds spot on to me.

I mean surely the idea of a patent is to protect the inventor or designer of a new technology, thereby encouraging people to innovate without fear of having their hard work stolen.

It's backwards with what Apple have done, and makes no sense. They're looking at existing inventions and patenting them just because nobody else has.

smash

Also granted patents for:

Location-based categorical information services and Consistent backup of electronic information.

Jesus Christ, someone in the patent office needs to be fired.

Skill Magill

OneArt wrote: »

Aww I miss Lotus. Great word processor. F*ck you, Word.

Word
http://imgur.com/gallery/IR9fx/new

ArseLtd

Tin Foil Hat wrote: »

There's a small flaw in your plan? Why would any company spend hundreds of millions on developing products only to be immediately undercut by any number of companies who don't have to spend that money?

However, patenting basic things that have been around for years - basic shapes, simple animations - is absolute bollox.

Oh i know exactly what you mean, the system is inherently evil and greedy.

Think of back in the day, man invents wheel and anyone who hears about it benefits. Baked bread is invented and everyone benefits.

Compare Nicola Tesla to Thomas Edison, Tesla was a far better inventor and didn't bother patent much. Tesla was a true inventor, money didn't matter to him, he wanted to see his ideas come alive. Edison was more of a business man, he got people to work for him and ran off to the patent office with anything they came up with.

yoyo

Sure online flash based magazines (like the tesco online offers magazine, metro mag and the likes) used this page turn design years before Apple did, there are commercial and open source online readers out there that use this technology. Would love to know how many in the patent office there have apple shares!

Nick

Jumblon

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )

Skill Magill

No iskating this Christmas, or iscream, theres still 25 letters left though, I'm gonna take the letter A

eoing1

eoing1 wrote: »

No iskating this Christmas, or iscream, theres still 25 letters left though, I'm gonna take the letter A

Ascream (Ass-cream?) - Yum?

Skill Magill

Deleted User wrote: »

Ascream (Ass-cream?) - Yum?

Yum:D

thebman

OneArt wrote: »

Aww I miss Lotus. Great word processor. F*ck you, Word.

Why'd you switch, its free now.
http://www-03.ibm.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.nsf/home

Jev/N

US Patents are crazy. Half that stuff wouldn't get though in Europe at all

Patenting the pinch to zoom; fine.

Patenting the page turn animation; ridiculous!