Apple is in the center of the world in terms of patents. It looks like they are actually doing well in suing others and defending themselves. Good job, Apple!
Apple won the dismissal of a 2.2 billion lawsuit in Germany over technology used to decide priority for calls on mobile networks. According to the news, the court in Mannheim ruled that Apple didn't infringe on two patents brought up by IPCom GmbH & Co Kg. It's interesting that HTC also won this dismissal of related suit by IPCom over other patents.
It's interesting because IPCom has been suing mother mobile device makers ever since it required patents from Robert Bosch GimbH in 2007. The article states that their crucial patent involves methods helping customers to place emergency calls.
As we talked about in class, IPCom is one of the patent trolls that does not make any products, but makes money by suing other companies. As we talked about in class, larger companies such as Apple and Google go into litigation even though it could be costly. It was also interesting to see that Apple, along with 19 other companies, petitioned the European Union to weaken the ability of non manufacturers to win injunctions in IP cases.
I like seeing Apple winning against patent trolls because it clearly puts stop to patent trolls. I understand the whole concept of starting the patents to protect ideas and products. But the ways that patent trolls are utilizing patents does not seem ethical, especially in case against smaller companies.
It's interesting article indeed because larger it looks like larger corporations like Google and Apple would rather go into litigation to crush patent trolls even though the cost could be larger than the settlement itself, as we talked in class. It's also great to see Apple winning cases and defending well against patent trolls.
It's interesting article indeed because larger it looks like larger corporations like Google and Apple would rather go into litigation to crush patent trolls even though the cost could be larger than the settlement itself, as we talked in class. It's also great to see Apple winning cases and defending well against patent trolls.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-28/apple-wins-dismissal-of-2-2-billion-patent-suit-in-germany.html
Hi Dong, great post! It's nice to see that a corporation like Apple is winning against patent trolls... but is it not also interesting to see that they are also part of Rockstar Consortium (along with RIM, Ericsson, Microsoft, and Sony)? This must mean that they're feeling intimidated by the new Android wave that has been threatening their reign in the smartphone arena for a while now. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteYeah, Apple and Microsoft are trying to stop other competitors through litigation. I see it as this way. Companies like IPCom, are suing Apple in order to gain money even though they don't actually make any products. Apple on the other hand are backing up Rockstar to slow down other competitors. Many could say that they are technically part of patent trolls, but I think different. They are just doing their job, which is to make their products more attractive to clients.
Delete*Playing devil's advocate here*, but is it really such a bad thing if IPCom is suing other people for violating their patents. Someone initially invented these patents and sold them to Robert Bosch Gimbh. So is it fair not to give that initial inventor any royalties on the patent because the initial company they sold it to can no longer enforce the patent? I think that while IP trolls aren't always perceived in a positive light, they're trying to ensure that there is still an incentive to innovate. If you sell your patent to a company and they can't enforce it, the incentive to sell these patents to these companies and promote technological innovation will be severely hampered.
ReplyDeleteYour statement makes sense to some extent. But to me, patent trolls are just trying to leech off of other companies. They sue every other companies that they can hands on. Clearly, in this case, they sued HTC and lost. They sued Apple, and lost. So, will they continue to sue other companies on same claim? I would support them if they made some products, and other companies infringed on their claim. But it's not the case.
DeleteHi Dong, I wanted to commend your posts so far! You chose great topics, discuss them well, and you include your opinion as well as that of others. Your comments are also great for discussion.
ReplyDeleteA big part of patent litigation is the cost. Consider how much Apple had to invest in litigation costs in order to win this dismissal. Why do you think it's worthwhile for them?