Apple Sues Motorola Over Multi-Touch

[dscuber9000]

That Motorola calls a supposedly offending product "iTouch" should tell us something about the intelligence of this once great company. Motorola used to be the master of radio technology. It even built the CPUs for Macintoshes for years. Too bad it can no longer innovate.

I agree. It's embarrassing that they couldn't even get the name of the product they have a problem with right.

 

[zin]

*text*

Thanks.

 

[Rajani Isa]

Argh! I must learn to fact check faster!

Go digital

Cue the arguments between people who know absolutely nothing about the details of the suits or patents or the law,but will waste hours of their lives fuming and flaming over something that will not affect them in any way whatsoever.

Go!

I've a patented time traveling method. Care to license it so you can cue BEFORE all the arguments start?

Could someone help me out here?

So let me get this straight: someone (or a company) owns the patent to a touch-based user interface? Am I wrong with that assumption?

Why are these types of patents allowed?

Based on what I am getting out of what I've read, they own a patent on their user interface, as WELL as a patent on a construction method for multi-touch capable screens.

 

[cmaier]

Problem is proving it. But like you said it would require a major overhaul of the system and the blood sucking lawyers are never going to allow that to happen. And it goes double because most of our politians are lawyers or hold a law degree.
It any lawsuit there are always at least 2 winners. The lawyer for plaintif and the lawyer for the defendant. They always win

I think you are mischaracterizing lawyers, but then I am a patent attorney.

 

[kdarling]

That Motorola calls a supposedly offending product "iTouch" should tell us something about the intelligence of this once great company.

Oh for goodness' sake. All it tells us is that either Jennifer or Dean, the two people's names on that particular press release, used common slang.

Apple doesn't own a patent to *any* touch based user interface. They own a patent to a particular implementation of a touch based user interface.

I'm still trying to figure out what Apple is suing Motorola about in regards to their touchscreen, as the Droids they cite all use an Atmel (not Motorola) touchscreen controller with its own patented method.

 

[cmaier]

I'm still trying to figure out what Apple is suing Motorola about in regards to their touchscreen, as the Droids they cite all use an Atmel (not Motorola) touchscreen controller with its own patented method.

doesn't matter who built the chip if moto sells a phone including it. Doesn't matter if atmel patented it - a patent does not give you the right to do the thing you patented.

 

[koruki]

I think its fair to say that this lawsuit from Apple against Moto isnt a "gimme your money suit", its a oh just "F(*& off with your suit" suit

 

[twoodcc]

well apple better defend their stuff

 

[Analog Kid]

doesn't matter who built the chip if moto sells a phone including it. Doesn't matter if atmel patented it - a patent does not give you the right to do the thing you patented.

Assuming Atmel had to provide indemnity for anyone to risk using their chip, wouldn't Apple have to sue Mot in order to get to Atmel?

I think you are mischaracterizing lawyers, but then I am a patent attorney.

I'm sure he meant "blood sucking" in the good way. Clearly he's on Team Edward.

(Seriously, thanks for sticking around and adding some sense to the nonsense.)

 

[applefan69]

Apple's touchscreens already support at least 11 finger input. Not sure what the wife thing means.

But they're both suing each other? Which one is which?

Well motorolla sued first, so its easy to argue they innovated.

Apple on the other hand . . . shamelessly copying the counter-suing strategy.. They have dropped worse than microsoft ever was.

 

[Analog Kid]

Apple's touchscreens already support at least 11 finger input.

I'm just picturing Facetime firing up when the 11th finger is detected and hearing "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Now, prepare to die."

 

[cmaier]

Assuming Atmel had to provide indemnity for anyone to risk using their chip, wouldn't Apple have to sue Mot in order to get to Atmel?

I'm sure he meant "blood sucking" in the good way. Clearly he's on Team Edward.

(Seriously, thanks for sticking around and adding some sense to the nonsense.)

Assuming the atmel chip, by itself, infringes, apple could sue atmel, too. The patent claims may require an actual screen or device, not just a chip.

Indemnity is rare, btw, in the electronics industry.

 

[JAT]

Android's originators certainly have worked on phones for much longer. Using currently known histories, the two phone OS origins seem to be:

Did you mean phone origins? Because my understanding is iOS is based on OSX, which is Unix, and slightly older. Sure, not as a phone, but that hardly means anything.

Unless you meant the GUI. Or should that be TUI for the iPhone?

I think you are mischaracterizing lawyers, but then I am a patent attorney.

Shakespeare started it.

Oh for goodness' sake. All it tells us is that either Jennifer or Dean, the two people's names on that particular press release, used common slang.

I see your pursuit of accuracy stops at the inside of CE products, not what we call them here on the outside. To me, getting the name correct would be a useful way to identify a product, esp when discussing a lawsuit.

I'm just picturing Facetime firing up when the 11th finger is detected and hearing "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Now, prepare to die."

Love it.

 

[kdarling]

Did you mean phone origins? Because my understanding is iOS is based on OSX, which is Unix, and slightly older. Sure, not as a phone, but that hardly means anything.

As far as origins, they're all somehow based on Unix if we go that far back

I meant history as pertaining to how long the developers had been working on their phone-specific OS version.

It was just one year before the iPhone was shown off, that Apple decided to port OSX instead of going with Linux as Tony Fadell (Senior VP of the iPod division) supposedly wished. The Android OS had been in the works much longer.

This is not about relative merits, btw. Only timelines, and only because the topic was brought up.

I see your pursuit of accuracy stops at the inside of CE products, not what we call them here on the outside. To me, getting the name correct would be a useful way to identify a product, esp when discussing a lawsuit.

Well, there's important technical and historical accuracy... and then there's meaningless handwringing over the use of a common nickname.

Like many others, I sometimes call my iPod touches an "iTouch", because the original name is too much to say all the time, and everyone knows what iTouch means.

In a similar vein, many owners use "Dinc" when posting about their Droid Incredible, because it's easier to write. Ditto with "WinMo", "WP7" and a million other mouthful names that lend themselves to shorter nicknames. No one gets upset, either.

Yes, it would be nice if the Motorola media folk got the name absolutely correct. But is the use of a nickname by probably one writer somehow an indicator of a company that's fallen into the depths? Get real.

PS. Even Apple knows what "iTouch" refers to in their case. Try searching their website for it... iPod touch comes up as the main result.
.

 

[AidenShaw]

if "BR" for "BD" is OK on MR, then "Itouch" for "Ipod Touch" should be fine

I agree. It's embarrassing that they couldn't even get the name of the product they have a problem with right.

Oh for goodness' sake. All it tells us is that either Jennifer or Dean, the two people's names on that particular press release, used common slang.

A MacRumours moderator recently said that it was fine to use "BR" for "BD" on MacRumours, since a Google search shows it to be a common mistake.

By extension then, using "Itouch" for "Ipod Touch" should be acceptable.

Either we should use the accepted name, or allow all common erroneous permutations of the name. MacRumours seems to have come out on the side of accepting erroneous permutations.

 

[motulist]

A MacRumours moderator recently said that it was fine to use "BR" for "BD" on MacRumours, since a Google search shows it to be a common mistake.

By extension then, using "Itouch" for "Ipod Touch" should be acceptable.

Either we should use the accepted name, or allow all common erroneous permutations of the name. MacRumours seems to have come out on the side of accepting erroneous permutations.

Dude, I am so with you on this. I find it so ridiculous when people get their panties in a bunch just because someone called a product on the market by a name other than the official Trademarked™ name that the company decided to market it as. It's not like misspelling a person's proper name or changing a rule of grammar. Heck, even the official name of iDevices breaks the capitalization spelling rules of English!

 

[Mochi Hana]

I'm sure this lawsuit just made a lawyer's week. Yay them.

 

[kharvel]

No kidding. Samsung could really cripple Apple if they all of a sudden cut off their flash memory supply.

This is why I strongly believe that Apple is going to use its cash hoard to buy a Flash memory manufacturer outright and become a direct competitor to Samsung not only in phones but also in Flash.

You heard it from me here first.

 

[Analog Kid]

This is why I strongly believe that Apple is going to use its cash hoard to buy a Flash memory manufacturer outright and become a direct competitor to Samsung not only in phones but also in Flash.

You heard it from me here first.

Why Samsung, and why Flash?

Why doesn't Apple buy Harley Davidson and compete with Yamaha not only in consumer electronics and in music but also in motorcycles?

 

[tzeshan]

This is why I strongly believe that Apple is going to use its cash hoard to buy a Flash memory manufacturer outright and become a direct competitor to Samsung not only in phones but also in Flash.

You heard it from me here first.

That poster knows no business. Apple has already signed a contract with Samsung buying flash memory. There is no way Samsung will suddenly cut off supply.