How Steve Jobs Patent-Trolled Bill Gates

theodp writes "Apple, which is currently waging IP war on Android vendors, is no stranger to patent trolling. Citing the Steve Jobs bio, Forbes' Eric Jackson recalls how Steve Jobs used patents to get Bill Gates to make a 1997 investment in Apple. Recalled Jobs: 'Microsoft was walking over Apple's patents. I said [to Gates], "If we kept up our lawsuits, a few years from now we could win a billion-dollar patent suit. You know it, and I know it. But Apple's not going to survive that long if we're at war. I know that. So let's figure out how to settle this right away. All I need is a commitment that Microsoft will keep developing for the Mac and an investment by Microsoft in Apple so it has a stake in our success.' Next thing you know, BillG was lording over Jobs at Macworld Boston, as the pair announced the $150 million investment that breathed new life into then-struggling Apple. So, does Gates deserve any credit for helping create the world's most valuable company?"

Comments

Re:Disagree

[PCM2]

You're trying to define innovate to mean the same thing as invent. That's not what it means. It means "Make changes in something established, esp. by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.". It's hard to argue that Apple doesn't do this. They find markets where there's room for improvement in the products and then release a product which is better is some way.

I agree, but then there's the stuff that Apple plain invented. FireWire? ADB? AppleTalk? TrueType? Even the PowerPC wouldn't exist without Apple's involvement. This idea that Apple doesn't create anything is frankly bizarre, and I think it must just be sour grapes, because it has very little basis in reality.

Re:But Apple sues over those "inventions" like mad

[rtfa-troll]

When you look at it, yes, it does seem at first glance that Samsung is copying Apple. What's crucial about this claim is the idea that Apple's packaging was original and different. However, if you look at it; Apple's supposedly original unboxing experience (from June 2007) and compare it with Nokia's N97 unboxing experience from march of the same year using the comparison table in the article you linked to then we see

• a rectangular box - match
• with minimal metalic silver lettering - match
• and a large front view picture of the product prominently on the top surface of the box - no match, but compare Nokia E90 communicator launched in February
• a two piece box wherein the bottom piece is nested completely within the top piece - match
• use of a tray which cradles the products to make them completely visible on opening the box - match

The match between Apple and Nokia is much better than the match between Samsung and Apple. Who is ripping off who? Basically this kind of "copying" is nothing more than a type of fashion and Apple is outrageous to try to get competitor's products banned for things that they do themselves many times over.