Intellectual property, at the end of the day, is worth what you're willing to spend to defend it. Ideas abound, and the reason to have patents on everything (including icon design, the motion of fingers on a surface, or one-click purchasing) is, in part, to block others from doing it. This creates path dependencies, as Brian Arthur might put it, and can set standards. Espionage occurs in many forms - whether Samsung did it deliberately or not is a matter for the court to decide, which this ruling did. As noted, Apple didn't win everything, and was countersued by Samsung, which suggests that whoever was first (in the US, at least) had the better chance of prevailing.
Apple's been clear about protecting its intellectual property and it has the resources to do so. Does this stifle or reward innovation? Which is the better aim for society and its laws? I believe these are open questions.
- Claiborne -
Not a lawyer nor an economist-would love to here a explination for how this even came to court.
Seriusly round cornered icons are patentable? (If I had the money right now i'd consider getting one of the phones apples complaining about) This does strike me as a bad move apple in terms of the parts and the US phone ecology. They were at one point using samsungs american plants to manufacture the i(name here) stuff. I hope they have someone else ready once the current stock runs out. Unless MS pulls out of the portable market- sooner or later woudn't MS decide attempt to compete (more?) with the iphone? What wories and amuses me is that it looks like the only way for MS and Apple to compete with inovations from google and others is to team up- and when they stop inovating sue them-instead of competing on a even playing field.
Other peoples thoughts on this?
On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 8:34 PM, Owen Densmore
<[hidden email]> wrote:
This is so weird:
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=24064
.. I think the whole patent thing has gone way to far. But, hey, maybe they DID steal?
-- Owen
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FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
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============================================================FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listservMeets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's Collegelectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at
http://www.friam.org
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