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Koss has a market cap of $71.8 million. Apple has a market cap of $2.475 Trillion. Apple should have just drove them into the ground with legal costs instead of settling the infringement case. All settling does is make other small companies think they can go after Apple and get something out of it if they suspect infringement.
 
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The trolls on MR love to accuse Apple of being litigious and weaponizing "obvious" patents that should be invalidated....but at the same time they jump to the defense of the "little guy" when Apple gets sued.

From the sound of it, the Koss patent in question is tapping an earbud for play/pause controls...

Apples implementation does not use capacitive touch controls, but rather uses an accelerometer to detect the user tapping the AirPod. Koss' implementation used capacitive touch controls. Note how AirPods Pro/3 are not affected by this lawsuit, since they switched to the force sensor/squeeze the stem. AirPods infringe Koss' patent by TAPPING the AirPod.

And Apple is the bad guy, patent troll?
 
There is never a dull day when you're an Apple lawyer! Can't wait for the infringements on 'round wheel for motor vehicle' ...

Tell that to the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper. Every car manufacturer but one stole his idea and they all claimed in court that they in fact had already created it first. But of course none of them ever did or they wouldn't have all made conflicting claims! He had negotiated his patent with them all too and they all refused to pay him and stole it instead. His estate eventually got most of the money and still gets royalties on every automobile to this date. Will Apple attempt to steal this one too I wonder? :)
 
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Tell that to the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper. Every car manufacturer but one stole his idea and they all claimed in court that they in fact had already created it first. But of course none of them ever did or they wouldn't have all made conflicting claims! He had negotiated his patent with them all too and they all refused to pay him and stole it instead. His estate eventually got most of the money and still gets royalties on every automobile to this date. Will Apple attempt to steal this one too I wonder? :)
There won’t be window wipers - instead, the windshield is constantly cleaning 😉
 
What patents have apple used and not payed for?
WiFi for one
Koss Pro/4AA were the very first headphones I yearned for (Circa 1970). I wonder who owns the patent/trademark/copyright to "Headphone"? It's not a "phone" but it is worn on the head.
View attachment 2034529
phone from Greek phono, meaning sound or voice, see gramophone, phonograph, phonetics
 
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Koss has a market cap of $71.8 million. Apple has a market cap of $2.475 Trillion. Apple should have just drove them into the ground with legal costs instead of settling the infringement case.
What a cynical world view you have.

Might is right?
Bigger is better and **** the small guy?

You should go into politics.
All settling does is make other small companies think they can go after Apple and get something out of it if they suspect infringement.
And if there is infringement? Screw them?
 
How many times have we seen Apple use this strategy?

Use tech without paying for patents. Wait to see if anyone notices and if you get sued, deal with it then.
When was the last time you used a Koss headphone? I’ll go first… 1986. What possible relevant technology could they possibly have today?
 
When was the last time you used a Koss headphone?
These remain an extremely popular model.


What possible relevant technology could they possibly have today?

you could read literally the 2nd reply on this thread

Related to the 2012 Koss Strive Tap in ear headphones.

see this article.

what was dismissed
 
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Koss has a market cap of $71.8 million. Apple has a market cap of $2.475 Trillion. Apple should have just drove them into the ground with legal costs instead of settling the infringement case. All settling does is make other small companies think they can go after Apple and get something out of it if they suspect infringement.
That is based on the expectations that others intentions are always bad and Apple’s is always good. I doubt it’s that clearly cut out in real life.
 
When was the last time you used a Koss headphone? I’ll go first… 1986. What possible relevant technology could they possibly have today?
True, if we on an Apple forum don’t like a company’s products in comparison to our beloved Apple products, that is enough motivation to dismiss the very idea that patents have any meaning. 😂
 
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I hate silly patents that others use to sue Apple. It's damaging to innovation.

So Apple's patents also damage innovation? There are problems with patent system. Over broad patents that should not have been granted, for example.

I believe I said this before: there are billions of people in the world and any two or more people can and will come up with similar ideas.

True, and if it is obvious it is not patentable.

Bridges are a good example: they pretty much do the same thing but so many different styles.

And are built using common knowledge that can't be patented, even if materials used could be or a design patent applied.

Apple might have talked to these guys about their patients - then realized how ****** they were compared to what Apple was already developing in-house or Apple felt they could do better by building a similar system from the ground up. The end result might look the same, but what processes did each company take to get there.

How you got there may be irrelevant depending on the patent. I had a friend whose company created a software version of a mechanical manufacturing control system and ran into patent issues since they did exactly what was patented except in software.

Apple may have initially decided their patents provided enough protection that they would not violate Koss' or be able to invalidate them. Given they are two major corporations and not trolls they decided it was in their best interest to settle. That's par for the course. We settled a lawsuit our attorney said we could probably win, but recommended settling, simply because it was cheaper and removed the uncertainty of the lawsuit's outcome.
 
When was the last time you used a Koss headphone? I’ll go first… 1986. What possible relevant technology could they possibly have today?

It's interesting they have managed to stay in business despite the changes in the headphone marketplace. Their executives also managed to cash out some $30million in stock when reddit ran the price up. That as more than the company was worth prior to the run up.
 
So Apple's patents also damage innovation? There are problems with patent system. Over broad patents that should not have been granted, for example.

No, Apple actually deploys its patented technologies in real-world products and services. That doesn't damage innovation. Apple doesn't patent hoard with the goal of collecting royalties from the real innovators who build actual functioning products and services.
 
No, Apple actually deploys its patented technologies in real-world products and services. That doesn't damage innovation. Apple doesn't patent hoard with the goal of collecting royalties from the real innovators who build actual functioning products and services.
Like all corporations it uses its patents to keep others from creating products that are described in the patent forms. Apple likely has tons of patents that never made it into real products. Same as everyone else.
 
How many times have we seen Apple use this strategy?

Use tech without paying for patents. Wait to see if anyone notices and if you get sued, deal with it then.
lot of companies do and most of the time it is probably mistake, since Apple is huge it gets in news and more people are willing to sue Apple because they have money. Who would sue Chinese manufacturer.
 
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