What If Android Lost the Patent War?

adeelarshad82 writes "The patent system is certainly complex, especially when it comes to smartphones. The Financial Times estimates that as many as 250,000 patents are at stake in a smartphone. Industry titans like Microsoft, Nokia, and Apple have tens of thousands of patents each, but Google's portfolio is reportedly on the low end — 'under 1,000.' Taking advantage of the opportunity, Apple has its patent strategy aimed squarely at the number one rival to its iOS mobile operating system, Android, which is now embedded in 40 percent of all U.S. smartphones compared to Apple's 26.6 percent. Apple's lawyers have been aggressively suing Android manufacturers HTC and Samsung for various technologies, from the 'look and feel' to how it connects to broadband networks. A recently published article takes a deep dive into the lawsuits' possible outcomes and their effect on end users."

Comments

Not a Troll, A Serious Question

[OS24Ever]

I'm not trolling here, I seriously am not. I'm a guy who likes to make $$, and if I come up with something fancy, some idiot doing the same thing who didn't have the idea until I did does it too, and sells for less than me why should I come up with ideas again?

There's your basic patent argument.

Now, I will happily concede that there are many ideas that are 'well no shit' and not worthy of a patent, however, the iPhone was not a 'no shit really?' idea if you look at phones in 2006.

Sure, there was Palm, and there was Windows. The first was an organizer + Phone and the second was a windows computer shrunk into a phone shaped device.

There was the Blackberry, and while my google fu skills are week there was the rumored 'google phone' that the early units looked remarkably like blackberry/treo 650 of the time.

Then Steve Jobs and Co came by and tossed the grenade that is iPhone onto the market. Google suddenly went quiet, and 9 or so months later came out with this Android thing. It looked a lot like iPhone, you're a lying.

Should Google have to pay apple for their neat idea? Sorry but say hell yes. Before that, I'd have argued they owed Palm, BB and Windows guys some kind of fee and apparently the courts agree with the Windows side of things.

Now. Should Google have to pay Apple for the next 75 years? hell no. That's the kind of reform we should be fighting for. Ideas should have some kind of time line when you can be exclusive if you want, or sell to others to use if you want. After that, screw it. Not all ideas are groundbreaking to deserve huge benefits of time either. like say, oh, updating your computer over the internet kind of patents. There has to be a middle ground.

Who am I kidding. There is no middle ground, burn everyone