The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is a JOKE! It's awarded THOUSANDS of patents to Apple that they NEVER should have in the first place!
Now they are being EXPOSED to having been COMPLETELY INCOMPETANT, carelessly and haphazardly awarding Apple with almost ANY patent Apple applies for without properly checking for novelty OR obviousness.
Apple apologists are complaining that the USPTO is "stifling" innovation by invalidating Apple's patents. What they SHOULD be complaining about is the USPTO AWARDING Apple with these BOGUS patents in the FIRST PLACE!
Some credit SHOULD be given to the USPTO for OWNING UP to their past mistakes and invalidating these patents. However, that DOES NOT undo the HUGE damage to innovation in technology sector these patents have caused allowing Apple to BULLY other technology companies from innovation and providing better products to the market by SUING THEM for "infringing" on their BOGUS "inventions".
And it's not like the USPTO has "turned the page" and ceased to issue these RIDICULOUS bogus patents to Apple. Just last month, the USPTO awarded Apple with the patent for the VIRTUAL PAGE TURN.
That's right, I guess Apple INVENTED the animated page turn. No, you've NEVER seen it in any Disney movie in the beginning when a fairy tale books turns the page on its own. No, you've never seen it in the dozens of video games that shown a "virtual page turn" when reading an in-game "journal".
NO, Apple invented the "virtual page turn" just LAST YEAR in 2011, submitting its patent application on December 18, 2011, LESS THAN A YEAR AGO!!!
NO, there is absolutely NO OBVIOUSNESS to a virtual page turn. Who would have thought of MIMICKING a page turn with ANIMATION??? That's just a CRAZY, ORIGINAL, MIND-BLOWING idea!
Okay, beside the THOUSANDS or prior art examples found EVERYWHERE, but those don't matter because the USPTO doesn't CONCERN itself with prior art, novelty or obviousness unless the patent is CHALLENGED IN COURT meaning a challenger would need HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars in their legal war chest to even MOUNT a credible challenge against Apple's legal team.
So what the USPTO is doing is QUITE SIMPLE. They are FAVORING Apple by granting them patents carte blanche for practically ANY patent application Apple submits, even when it's BLATANTLY OBVIOUS that Apple not only DID NOT invent the "invention", but that the application of the "invention" is already IN USE and COMMON.
That gives Apple at least YEARS of competitive advantage over rival companies, and gives them a way to LITIGATE against their competitors, forcing other companies to spend HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS, if not BILLIONS, in legal fees to defend themselves, while also allowing Apple to successfully sue for PRODUCT INJUNCTIONS against its competitors' offerings, keeping their competition from the shelves and away from the consumer.
So even if the USPTO INVALIDATES the patent YEARS down the line, like it has with Apple's "rubber banding" patent claims, which were part of the California JURY VERDICT against Samsung, or this "Steve Jobs patent" for iPhone, the DAMAGE HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE.
Good job USPTO! Your SCAM has been uncovered, but you still are GETTING AWAY WITH DOING IT! Just a MONTH AFTER you INVALIDATE Apple's "rubber banding" patent, you AWARD them with the patent for the "virtual page turn". Nice work of making it SEEM like you are REALIZING the ERROR of your ways while NONCHALANTLY CONTINUING your SCAM! Bravo!!!
Now they are being EXPOSED to having been COMPLETELY INCOMPETANT, carelessly and haphazardly awarding Apple with almost ANY patent Apple applies for without properly checking for novelty OR obviousness.
Apple apologists are complaining that the USPTO is "stifling" innovation by invalidating Apple's patents. What they SHOULD be complaining about is the USPTO AWARDING Apple with these BOGUS patents in the FIRST PLACE!
Some credit SHOULD be given to the USPTO for OWNING UP to their past mistakes and invalidating these patents. However, that DOES NOT undo the HUGE damage to innovation in technology sector these patents have caused allowing Apple to BULLY other technology companies from innovation and providing better products to the market by SUING THEM for "infringing" on their BOGUS "inventions".
And it's not like the USPTO has "turned the page" and ceased to issue these RIDICULOUS bogus patents to Apple. Just last month, the USPTO awarded Apple with the patent for the VIRTUAL PAGE TURN.
That's right, I guess Apple INVENTED the animated page turn. No, you've NEVER seen it in any Disney movie in the beginning when a fairy tale books turns the page on its own. No, you've never seen it in the dozens of video games that shown a "virtual page turn" when reading an in-game "journal".
NO, Apple invented the "virtual page turn" just LAST YEAR in 2011, submitting its patent application on December 18, 2011, LESS THAN A YEAR AGO!!!
NO, there is absolutely NO OBVIOUSNESS to a virtual page turn. Who would have thought of MIMICKING a page turn with ANIMATION??? That's just a CRAZY, ORIGINAL, MIND-BLOWING idea!
Okay, beside the THOUSANDS or prior art examples found EVERYWHERE, but those don't matter because the USPTO doesn't CONCERN itself with prior art, novelty or obviousness unless the patent is CHALLENGED IN COURT meaning a challenger would need HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars in their legal war chest to even MOUNT a credible challenge against Apple's legal team.
So what the USPTO is doing is QUITE SIMPLE. They are FAVORING Apple by granting them patents carte blanche for practically ANY patent application Apple submits, even when it's BLATANTLY OBVIOUS that Apple not only DID NOT invent the "invention", but that the application of the "invention" is already IN USE and COMMON.
That gives Apple at least YEARS of competitive advantage over rival companies, and gives them a way to LITIGATE against their competitors, forcing other companies to spend HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS, if not BILLIONS, in legal fees to defend themselves, while also allowing Apple to successfully sue for PRODUCT INJUNCTIONS against its competitors' offerings, keeping their competition from the shelves and away from the consumer.
So even if the USPTO INVALIDATES the patent YEARS down the line, like it has with Apple's "rubber banding" patent claims, which were part of the California JURY VERDICT against Samsung, or this "Steve Jobs patent" for iPhone, the DAMAGE HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE.
Good job USPTO! Your SCAM has been uncovered, but you still are GETTING AWAY WITH DOING IT! Just a MONTH AFTER you INVALIDATE Apple's "rubber banding" patent, you AWARD them with the patent for the "virtual page turn". Nice work of making it SEEM like you are REALIZING the ERROR of your ways while NONCHALANTLY CONTINUING your SCAM! Bravo!!!