Japanese Entrepreneur Sues Apple Over Key Flicks and 3D Touch on iPhones and iPads

[Mac-Rumours]

That makes the biggest song writers, novelists, screen writers trolls.

A fairly unknown Dolly Parton song became one of the biggest song of all times, thanks to Whitney Houston. Dolly made an estimated 20 million dollars for royalties for a song she hasn't touched since the 70s (which barely made a dent back then). what a troll

James Cameron had zero involvements with any of the terminator movies since 1992, but got millions of dollars in royalties for characters he last used in 1991. for all purposes he's a troll too.

And don't get me started with George Lucas, and dozens others who license rights for movies, characters and songs they created. They all haven't been 'using' their creations, yet somehow got royalties for them. How dare they! Trolls

All your examples are of people that actually created something that was later reused by somebody else.

Dolly Parton didn't write a vague description of an idea for a song that may use one or more of the notes A-G and then try to get money from a more successful artist decades later.

 

[JungleNYC]

Patents need to be: novel, non-obvious, and useful. Hey may have 2 out of 3. Maybe.

 

[EgbertAttrick]

People of various ethnic backgrounds can and do live in other locations. It's a novel concept but one that's been around for thousands of years.

Yeah, but why would they be calling out his ethnic background? WTF does that have to do with anything? Hopefully, they’re just calling out that he is a Japanese citizen living in the US.

 

[Eso]

I get so frustrated every time Someone makes this statement. It is so disingenuous to act like all Samsung did was make a rectangular phone with rounded corners. Look at their phones right before the iPhone and then right after... and look at us with a straight face when trying to say this. Have some integrity.

Except that there's nothing wrong with responding to your competitors products. A design patent is to prevent someone from making a counterfeit product. It doesn't mean you can't develop something similar. See the current PUBG v. Fortnite controversy.

 

[farmboy]

Yeah, this is why Patent laws need to be fixed. It was never meant to be used this way. It's also was not to be used for common sense items. They way their using patents now. If the car was invented today. Someone like this would have have patented putting the driver in the left or right seat.

Globally, patents are not granted for "obvious" inventions (in your words "common sense items"). It's always been that way.

I'm all for the concept of patents to protect inventors and inventions. BUT... IMO... this isn't an invention. It's an idea / concept. I would love to see real patent reform such that (1) ideas and processes are not generally patentable, (2) patents have specific implementation requirements, (3) multiple approaches to the same problem don't infringe.

I could be wrong about these, but regardless... something has to change.

Copyrights protect expression, and patents protect inventions, and neither protect IDEAS (the USPTO regards ideas as "mere ideas" to give you the concept). If you don't reduce it to practice (tell the world how it works) you've got squat. Ideas are just starting points for inventions.

In this case, the guy seems to have a myriad of claims--which are specific descriptions which support the invention--which is good for him. Whether he properly identified all the prior art is another issue altogether, and that could be bad for him. With patents, the devil is in the details.

These types of stories tend to ignore the actual claims (often long and tedious) of a patent and just describe the concept (usually short and sweet), and this is exactly why so many find such a patent confusing and unjustified.

 

[Luke MacWalker]

Third-party Japanese keyboard for iPhone​

The Apple Japanese Kana keyboard looks a lot like this “third-party Japanese keyboard for iPhone”:

This keyboard was already available on the iPhone 3G, the first iPhone sold in Japan in 2008 (the first iPhone could not be used in Japan because 2G and 2.5G networks had already been shutdown if my memory doesn’t fail me).

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

I’m tired of these patent trolls that don’t even use their patents.

It's not just patent trolls. Even Apple owns a tonne of patents they don't use. That's the inherent problem with the patent system and why it should be abolished.

 

[pat500000]

Apple fruit companies should sue apple for apple symbol (sigh)

 

[AgentAnonymous]

People of various ethnic backgrounds can and do live in other locations. It's a novel concept but one that's been around for thousands of years.

Then he's not from Washington. Being from Washington implies he was born there and thus is an American.
[doublepost=1529533079][/doublepost]

haha... exactly. and I suppose anyone not from Washington would perhaps not know what a large Japanese population there is here.

Japanese is a nationality not a race, unless you're implying they're all immigrants. Anyone born in Washington is an American.

 

[RogerWilco]

I am pointing that the patent system is for inventions and implementations to be protected. It's not a mechanism for "I thought of it first."

Not really. The purpose of the patent system is to incentivize full public disclosure and to foster innovation, as opposed to historical practices of keeping trade secrets and destroying details of technologies which are no longer used by the inventor.

 

[gavroche]

Not if they fail to develop the product.
You're exactly following their brainwashing PR fluff.

I'm following their PR brainwashing fluff? what the heck are you talking about. Company takes out patents on things they are working . How is that pr fluff. Because they might decide later a tech is a dead end? Take your Apple hatred elsewhere.
[doublepost=1529536085][/doublepost]

Then he's not from Washington. Being from Washington implies he was born there and thus is an American.
[doublepost=1529533079][/doublepost]
Japanese is a nationality not a race, unless you're implying they're all immigrants. Anyone born in Washington is an American.

Seattle, and Washington was long considered the gateway to the Orient. It's the closest portion of the US to Japan and mainland. There has always been a large Japanese population here. Why on earth do you feel the need to try to parce hairs on distinctions between nationality and race. Is this really the forum for it? Lighten up...

 

[cmwade77]

Why only now?

Things in the legal system take time, as you have to try to work it out with the other party in good faith before it can go to court.

 

[tooloud10]

I'm not understanding the point you are trying to are make. What's hilarious about Apple negotiating with Cisco years ago to use the iPhone name? Who said they feel sorry for "poor little Apple."
If you want to bash Apple, please at least try to make sense, and attribute actual comments made.

Please, Apple didn't 'negotiate'. They announced the iPhone before even contacting Cisco. How would you react if Apple used one of your trademarks in a press release without even bothering to talk to you first?

If you want to carry Apple's water for them, at least make sure you know who owned the trademark at the time of the iPhone announcement.

https://www.cultofmac.com/143006/how-steve-jobs-steamrolled-cisco-on-the-name-iphone/

 

[Icy1007]

So he claims to own the patent to the software keyboard... Okay... sure...

The patent he owns deals with physical keys. This will get thrown out quickly I hope.

 

[tooloud10]

Apple is not seeking out users of their unused patents and trying to make money. That's what a troll does.

How is it trolling to defend the use of the property you own?

It is curious why this fella has taken so long to act.

Exactly what is curious about it?
[doublepost=1529536593][/doublepost]

It will be years before this settled. Apple will use it's deep pockets to drag this out a loooong time.

Right, it's almost like Apple is the troll, no?

 

[Icy1007]

Right, it's almost like Apple is the troll, no?

Apple actually uses its patents, therefore by definition, not a troll.

 

[tooloud10]

No comparison. A patent is a monopoly granted by Congress over an idea. It is not merely property. It is like if your neighborhood was allotted one car, and you claimed the car because you woke up early and stood in line first, then parked it and never drove it. Meanwhile your neighbors who want to drive to work, can't.

That doesn't make any sense. There's no requirement to use a patent that you own, so you literally can claim an idea by getting a patent, and then stand next to it while preventing others from using it without your permission.
[doublepost=1529536989][/doublepost]

Except that trademarks, copyright, and patents are three different things.

Except that the thing they all have in common is that the party that controls them can prevent others from using them for free.
[doublepost=1529537284][/doublepost]

Apple actually uses its patents, therefore by definition, not a troll.

Really, you're making the argument that Apple uses all of its patents? Where did you get this misguided notion?

 

[mazz0]

Whilst reading the description of the patent I thought it sounded like ridiculously vagoue bollocks, until I got the the last sentence. That bit is exactly what Apple (and other) have done. Bang to rights I’d say.

 

[Tech198]

When *hasn't* Apple had an infringement. I reckon these are getting worse (more), not better as time goes on.

 

[Mascots]

This is by no means a patent troll, hecappears to be the original inventor. More importantly this patent appears to be well developed and directly applicable to Apples design. I suspect Apple will need to settle if they dont find prior art.

If also applies to the start menu, menu bar in Wndows CE/Pocket PC, which appeared well before '02. So...

It's a broad patent that he is using to target Apple and is applicable across a wide margin of touch screen devices spanning through time. He was never going to produce anything with it. He is a troll.

People try to water down the topic with "why care about poor Apple, they do the same blah" ugh - he's capable of holding back massive steps in technology if given real power with this insubstantial patent - him saying it applies to 3D Touch interactions is a good example. This affects Android and Google as well. Its idea is not unique to the time and it offers no implementation.

Hell, it applies to web based drop downs on touch screens: does this mean Microsoft is abetting for enabling it through Edge on Windows touchscreen devices?

 

[tdiaz]

Don't you worry, it's coming. Someone has patented moving matter through flexible piping ..

They're just waiting for the right moment ... when Mr. Whipple least expects it.. they're gonna squeeze that Charmin.

The Patent system is a big hoax in many ways. 27 years ago, I had this idea.. I wrote it on a napkin, while sitting at a bar.. or maybe I took it from someone else, either way, this diagram proves that I invented the Time Warp.

So Pay Up!!

--
It's just a jump to to the left...

 

[nokkynuk]

Ugh trolls....

 

[Swift]

Nikola Tesla called: he wants all his electricity back. Cough it up, all the alternating current, and be quick about it!

 

[BvizioN]

Apple has hundreds of patents they don't use, and probably never will. Does that make them trolls? Is it ok for someone else to infringe on them?

Yeah, and Apple have countless of them that they use. How many does this guy have in use?
The difference is, patent trolls create patent specifically with one purpose on their mind: Bate big fish. That's why they are called patent trolls on the first place.

 

[dontwalkhand]

People of various ethnic backgrounds can and do live in other locations. It's a novel concept but one that's been around for thousands of years.

Yes, but in this case it is still inaccurate. He is an American.