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Because of the chilling effect on design or because there are less and less handset manufacturers? Or another reason? Please don't vaguebook me.
by grimboy 14y ago
Because of the chilling effect on design or because there are less and less handset manufacturers? Or another reason? Please don't vaguebook me.
- bluedanieru 14y agoThe first one. Patent law has run amok to the point there really isn't any distinguishable difference between the trolls and the legitimate businesses any more. If you can patent pinch-and-zoom you can patent anything.
- SG- 14y agoWell this entire trial and damages awarded have to do with a long series of wilful copying on Samsung's part, not just pinch to zoom.
- luriel 14y agoJust because Samsung perhaps did something morally or legally questionable it doesn't make the patent insanity any less insane.
- jfb 14y agoSay what you will about patent abuses, a firm that is utilizing their patents is qualitatively different than some shitballs in a two person office in Houston suing for damages of a patent vultured at some tech company's bankruptcy proceedings.
- Evbn 14y agoHey, they paid someone for those patents. Someone who would not have been paid anyway. Do the inventors not deserve compensation? A windfall profits tax on transferred IP would be interesting, so IV and the like couldn't suck all the value out of the tech industry.
- jfb 14y agoI think an "exercise or surrender" sort of clause would do wonders. Of course, the patent system is brutally complicated and rife with unintended consequences, so tinkering with it is pretty fraught. The world isn't a theorem to be proved, there's no right answer. We all have to learn to deal with ambiguity better.
- pfedor 14y agoIt could be bad news even for Apple users, since now Apple will increase the fraction of resources allocated to legal bullying (since it works) at the expense of making better phones.
- tedunangst 14y agoI'm pretty sure Apple has enough cash to fund both the R&D and legal departments at 100%.