Apple Ordered to Pay $3.3 Million in Japanese Lawsuit Over iPod Click Wheel Patent

[macs4nw]

…..I'm with you on the "evil" part. But unless you've been involved with development of a complex product, you might not realize that it is almost impossible to develop a complex product without inadvertently violating some existing patent.

And that's exactly the distinction that's often present between those companies who willfully and blatantly copy IP, and those who do due diligence, but miss an obscure existing patent. We can suspect which companies generally fall within which category, but without proof, it shouldn't make people go around proclaiming such suspicions as the gospel, with it's inevitable good-vs-evil labeling.

Which is what I believe samcraig below, was alluding to.

I love the comments about how this is pocket change to Apple. While true - it's still a win for the plaintiff. But it seems people are fine with Apple violating patents and how insignificant any judgement is but when it comes to Apple suing others for their patents every other company is evil for violating them. The hypocrisy is laughable.

Apple has been found to have infringed upon an existing patent, and ordered to pay a damages judgement for that violation. End of story, hopefully.

 

[MacSince1990]

Does he take cash, because Tim carries more than that in his wallet.

You win the most insipid comment of the thread award

 

[roadbloc]

Time for a new Classic now maybe Apple? One with a TB SSD, backlit buttons, lightning port, RAW audio support and a speaker? Please? Pretty please?

 

[macs4nw]

Time for a new Classic now maybe Apple? One with a TB SSD, backlit buttons, lightning port, RAW audio support and a speaker? Please? Pretty please?

With AIFF or even Apple Lossless, make that at least a 2TB flash unit, and that will be one awesome portable HQ audio file server, exciting many audiophiles. Speaker not required, external DAC optional.

 

[ThomasJL]

I love the comments about how this is pocket change to Apple. While true - it's still a win for the plaintiff. But it seems people are fine with Apple violating patents and how insignificant any judgement is but when it comes to Apple suing others for their patents every other company is evil for violating them.

The hypocrisy is laughable.

Well said. I have always preferred Apple's computers and phones over their competitors', but Apple fully deserves to be sued and forced to pay if they violate other people's/companies' patents.

 

[samcraig]

And that's exactly the distinction that's often present between those companies who willfully and blatantly copy IP, and those who do due diligence, but miss an obscure existing patent. We can suspect which companies generally fall within which category, but without proof, it shouldn't make people go around proclaiming such suspicions as the gospel, with it's inevitable good-vs-evil labeling.

Which is what I believe samcraig below, was alluding to.

Apple has been found to have infringed upon an existing patent, and ordered to pay a damages judgement for that violation. End of story, hopefully.

Exactly my point.

And exactly true - all these patent "wars" often come with comments from armchair critics about company's "stealing" patents. First off - you can't steal a patent.

Second - it IS nearly if not completely impossible these days to create a product that doesn't violate a patent - there are millions upon millions filed. There is NO way to make sure yours doesn't violate one. A patent really holds no "value" until it's tested anyway. Which is why we're seeing some validated and others invalidated.

 

[carlgo]

Corporations routinely steal the ideas of small time inventors. It is rare when they have to pay out because they have armies of attorneys and the inventor has some guy he found in the yellow pages.

And of course there are the patent trolls who hold up corporations with endless patents that may or may not have any merit.

Maybe government and industry should establish a patent arbitration board where actual technical people would be presented with conflicts and could make informed decisions. If a patent was deemed to be violated the offender could back off or make a deal.

The arbitration could be binding or not.

I think that many cases would be averted because the parties involved would know that technical people would be making the decision, not a jury of ordinary citizens who they might be able to fool. It would eliminate some of the trolling.

The present system of endless court cases is not good for anyone (except of course the legions of attorneys who stir things up and keep the proceedings going as long as possible in order to pocket huge fees).

 

[Kurwenal]

routinely steal

So it is your position that patent infringement requires "stealing"?

Really?

We don't know the story here except Apple was found guilty.

The word you are looking for is "liable," not "guilty."

 

[theelysium]

Its not a troll since the man actually did invent it.
He first offered to work with Apple but Apple rejected him and just stole the idea.
Its like you working your ass off but someone else just takes your payment.

Please

 

[ekiro]

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Apple has been hit with a judgment for ¥330 million ($3.3 million) in a Japanese court case over infringement of a patent by the company's click wheel system used on a number of past iPod models and the current iPod classic, reports Dow Jones Business News.

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Saito had filed an injunction request against Apple back in 2007, and as settlement negotiations failed to result in any agreement, he eventually increased his damages request to ¥10 billion ($101 million). The court ruled, however, that Apple's infringement warranted the much smaller judgment.

Article Link: Apple Ordered to Pay $3.3 Million in Japanese Lawsuit Over iPod Click Wheel Patent

Looks like another speeding ticket for Apple to take to the Traffic Law Center...