Yes, this is exactly why people criticize patents so much. First, someone patents "Little Black Dress". But, nobody patented "Little Black Dress worn by a Blonde" so now patent that. But, nobody patented "LBD worn by a Blonde on Tuesday" so patent that.
So why did the first patent holder not patent "LBD worn by a Blonde on Tuesday?" There are very high-paid patent attorneys who have the very important job of making sure that when a patent is filed, every possible meaningful embodiment is covered. If they did not cover the third patent in the first patent already, then either they were extremely incompetent, or the idea is so novel that it is absolutely patentable.
Explain exactly why this is fundamentally different from the internet connection sharing that I already do on my cell phone frequently, which was the same as when I did internet connection sharing back in 1996 or whenever.
I would be surprised that the difference is not obvious, but most people don't read patents they comment on and the Macrumors team is notoriously bad at understanding and interpreting patents, so here goes...
Current Internet sharing via personal hotspot from user perspective:
- You enable the personal hotspot e.g. on your iPhone.
- You get a second device and go to the "Settings" menu.
- You search for the personal hotspot
- You connect and enter the password
- The device uses the personal hotspot until it is disconnected.
Apple's patent:
- You carry a device which needs another device to get its Internet connection (let's say it's a watch, even though the patent never mentions a watch)
- You enter the room where your iPad is located.
- The watch displays an iMessage
- You did not connect it with the iPad. It automatically discovered it, negotiated a network sharing connection with it and then advertised its presence to the iMessage server
- You decide to go out. You grab your iPhone and leave.
- You get another iMessage on your watch
- You did not connect the watch with the iPhone. It automatically discovered it after losing its connection to your iPad and now it is using its network connection.
To me, the difference is obvious. It may be non-obvious to someone who does not value convenience though.
What bothers me especially is how people defend the current system as protecting lone inventors working in their garages. 99% of the time, it is the large, established players in an industry who benefit.
So? They are the ones who invest 99% of the money into research, so they reap 99% of the benefits. I wish it were different, but money begets money. The people who complain the most are those who either don't research or who don't manage to actually invent anything worth patenting. If you don't have anything new to offer, then yes, the patent system will possibly kill you. I really fail to see the problem with that.
I would actually greatly benefit from an end to the patent system as we know it, because my company's main competitor is holding a huge amount of patents in our field. Still, I don't complain, because I recognize that these patents are huge technical achievements, created by excellent engineers. Rather than whining about it, I see it as my job to outdo their achievements. The right way to "beat the system" is not to abolish it, but to create more powerful patents.