Samsung forced to pay out ~$1bn in damages to Apple

[lorry_driver]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but it looks like Google finally getting in on this.

http://www.androidpit.com/google-vs-apple-android

[Auld]

The problem with Google suing over this particular set of patents is that it will have industry wide ramifications, not just for Apple.

America needs to overhaul its patent laws, these lawsuits are ridiculous.

[PalZer0]

Hopefully there's enough popcorn for this one.

[skitzor]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but it looks like Google finally getting in on this.

http://www.androidpit.com/google-vs-apple-android

that article is getting a bit of flak around the internet for being sensationalist, badly written and containing little information.

I think the important point that needs to be understood is the difference between an essential and non-essential patent. here's a decent explanation of the difference I grabbed from reddit user nana_nanananananana.

If Google sues using essential patents then even if they win, the court can force them to license the patent to Apple for a fair value. Google gets money, but that's it. This keeps patents from destroying entire industries, at least in theory (in reality, they still destroy smaller industries with regularity).

If Google sues using non-essential patents then the court cannot force Google to license the patents. Instead, Apple may have to pull infringing products from its stores, which is far more damaging.

and here's a forbes article on the topic that might be a little more informative. http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall ... ues-apple/

edit: something else that I found to be an interesting analogy.

Think about cars and you'll see that, of course, lots of different companies make cars. But they all have some very similar user interface elements. In particular, there's a steering wheel that you turn left and right to shift the wheels and there's a gas pedal and breaks that you hit with your right foot. Imagine if the way the automobile industry worked was that each car maker had to devise a unique user interface. So maybe GM cars would have a steering wheel, but Toyotas would have a joystick, and Honda you would steer with your feel and use your hands to control the gas and breaks.

In some sense there'd be "more innovation" in this world since there'd be this kind of arbitrary proliferation of user interfaces. But in a more important sense there'd be less competition, since there are only so many viable ways for a person to interact with a car and a lot of those ways suck.

my only problem is that I don't believe Apple is stopping people from using pinch-and-zoom, just asking for money every time someone uses it. but the issues here are similar.

[Ashigaru]

Thanks for linking the Forbes article skitzor, they're both great reads, but the Forbes article puts it in a real world perspective. I for one hope Google wipe the floor with them. Put the smarmy buggers back in their place...

[Wolfstar90]

I for one hope Google wipe the floor with them. Put the smarmy buggers back in their place...

Then we can go back to having phones with awful, counter-intuitive interfaces! Yay!

[diamondd]

Look out! We've got an iPhone fan!



seriously though, counter-intuitive is a massive stretch. At the very least I'd take my back and home buttons over a conglomerate button any day of the week.

[Wolfstar90]

I'll take my pinch and tap to zoom and multitouch gestures then. Also my black rectangle with rounded edges and a screen.

Also I'm quite disappointed that this isn't true:
http://en.paperblog.com/samsung-pays-ap ... ns-294795/

Still funny.

[diamondd]

I'll take my pinch and tap to zoom and multitouch gestures then. Also my black rectangle with rounded edges and a screen.

haha, don't care I'm keeping them anyway! I don't think ROM modders are going to comply to Apple's lawsuit

Also I'm quite disappointed that this isn't true:
http://en.paperblog.com/samsung-pays-ap ... ns-294795/

Still funny.

yeah, that would be so epic

[Matty]

Then we can go back to having phones with awful, counter-intuitive interfaces! Yay!

Because Apple addressed that issue in full right?
This iPhone I have is my first and last Apple product I'm ever going own.

[Ashigaru]

I for one hope Google wipe the floor with them. Put the smarmy buggers back in their place...

Then we can go back to having phones with awful, counter-intuitive interfaces! Yay!

Sadly my first response disappeared! Anyway, Apple isn't getting sued for the interface they use, they're getting sued by google for the use of a non-essential patent. Your interface and bad argument are both safe

[Sathias]

I for one hope Google wipe the floor with them. Put the smarmy buggers back in their place...

Then we can go back to having phones with awful, counter-intuitive interfaces! Yay!

At least we would have awful counter-intuitive interfaces that don't require iTunes.

[diamondd]

At least we would have awful counter-intuitive interfaces that don't require iTunes.

zing!

actually I always forget iPhones need iTunes, what an abomination. That software was the bane of my existence for years.

[Matty]

And counter intuitive phones that let you use an audio file as a ring tone. Or message tone. Or an alarm tone.
Or deleting pictures via PC.
Or letting you use it as mass storage.

Also I remember my girlfriends galaxy having that pull down menu thing (where you swipe down from the top of the screen and you can see messages etc.) and that little sms message preview at the top of the screen when you receive a text way before my iPhone did.

[Chucky]

Also I remember my girlfriends galaxy having that pull down menu thing (where you swipe down from the top of the screen and you can see messages etc.) and that little sms message preview at the top of the screen when you receive a text way before my iPhone did.

Yep iPhone copied the notification screen straight from Android (Samsung/HTC etc) without a doubt. Yet to this day they refuse to copy Bluetooth/Wifi shortcuts, it was one of the reasons I finally ditched my iPhone for an Android based phone.