Apple Loses Bid For Emergency Ban On HTC Phone Imports

New submitter tukang writes "The US International Trade Commission has rejected an emergency request by Apple to detain some HTC phones (including the One X and EVO 4G) at the border while the agency investigates Apple's claims of patent infringement. In May, HTC's phone shipment was held up at the border and was only allowed to pass after U.S. Customs and Border Protection received assurances that HTC worked around Apple patents, a claim which Apple disputes."

Comments

Only a little evil

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple isn't behaving well but they still have a long way to go to reach Microsoft levels of evil.

I mean, MS included a BROWSER in their OS. ...and they didn't even give you a way to uninstall it! Now THAT is pure evil.

Re:Only a little evil

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't that what Apple is doing ?

Re:Only a little evil

[bky1701]

Yeah, well, Microsoft lets you do things with your computer that are UNSAFE, like install software NOT APPROVED by them. Can you believe how evil Microsoft is? And Google actually helps these "open source" pirates to steal our great ideas! Obviously, Apple is the good guy here. They're not anti-competitive - just innovative, trendy, and easy to use! None of that "freedom" nonsense. You'll use Apple and you'll like it. Trust us!

Fully prepared to be accused of being an "Apple hater" for not buying the Apple agenda, and being modded down by some people who probably are making use of not-so-above-board mod points. But hey, karma to burn.

Re:Only a little evil

[TheoGB]

On Slashdot I always thought that slamming Apple was fine so long as you made it clear that you were a dyed-in-the-wool *nix fanboy. I'm not sure you managed to put that across, though. Damn...

Re:Only a little evil

[pnot]

I mean, MS included a BROWSER in their OS. ...and they didn't even give you a way to uninstall it! Now THAT is pure evil.

Absolutely! Good thing I can uninstall Safari from my Mac, easy as -- wait, what's this?

”Safari.app” can’t be modified or deleted because it’s required by Mac OS X.

The article does mention that you can rm -rf it from the command line, but cautions that this "could result in abnormal system behavior or improper functionality".

Re:Only a little evil

[ajo_arctus]

It wasn't the way they 'included a browser', it was they way they attempted (and succeeded) to entirely destroy a competitive market by using the thermo-nuclear option of abusing their Windows monopoly.

And it wasn't the way they did it with the web browser, it was the way they did it time and time again (Dr-Dos, OS/2, DiskStacker, WordPerfect, Netware, Netscape, DirectX) and certainly more than that. They even tried to create a proprietary internet (and thankfully failed).

They don't seem so evil these days, but I'm sure they would if they could. Or maybe Ballmer's just a big softy compared to Gates? I don't know, I suspect that the competition in mobile and from Google has really dented their ability to be really evil.

Re:Only a little evil

[Dynetrekk]

Yeah, well, Microsoft lets you do things with your computer that are UNSAFE, like install software NOT APPROVED by them.

I've got mod points, but I'll rather point out that on my mac I often compile and install software that has never been approved by anyone. Mac OS X is unix, so ./configure; make works rather often. I'm not a "fanboi" but I'm not too impressed by claims not supported by facts, either.

Re:Only a little evil

[Dog-Cow]

If you think that pushing a piece of software that doesn't follow some arbitrary standard is evil, you have a perspective warped beyond imagining.

Re:Only a little evil

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, but if you buy one of Apple's pocket-sized computers you need to constantly fight with the manufacturer to install any Unapproved Software on it.

Re:Only a little evil

[walshy007]

Give it time, while apple's future is hard to predict the general trend seems to be going to more lock down the better, hell with the next os x having developer signing they are paving the way for the future lock down. All they'd have to do is change a setting to refuse to run things not signed by them and the transformation would be complete.

Re:Only a little evil

[Xphile101361]

Hey, hey, less logic. This is a apple hater vs mac fanboi discussion.

Re:Only a little evil

[fredprado]

No, they are just trying to sue their way into market monopoly, with mixed results...

Re:Only a little evil

[andydread]

Your moronic analogy is well...moronic.

The correct analogy is Ford and Chevy blocking you from using aftermarket compatible parts that were not purchased at the dealer. They don't do that. Apple on the other hand.......

Another analogy would be ford and chevy forcing you to only purchase gas from the dealer.

No one is trying to install incompatible android apps on apple platform as your analogy suggests. What they are trying to do is install aftermarket compatible apps on the apple platform that does not come from the Apple dealer. get it?

sudden outbreak of common sense

[mjwx]

An emergency claim of patent infringement, surely calling it an "emergency" is taking the piss. Was someone's life or health in danger or just someone's bottom line.

There should be some punishment for misusing patent law and the ITC/courts like this. Perhaps the court should ban the plaintiffs competing product for 6-12 months when an allegation is found to be false...

But if that happened, Apple would just find another legal loophole to exploit I suppose.

Re:sudden outbreak of common sense

[c]

> Perhaps the court should ban the plaintiffs competing product for 6-12
> months when an allegation is found to be false...

I take these kinds of shenanigans as an admission that they don't have a product that they think can compete.

Re:sudden outbreak of common sense

[realityimpaired]

Even when the cheap ones are functionally identical to the high end ones.

Seriously... that phone right there, and the fact that Apple has never sued over it, makes it quite obvious that this has nothing to do with them trying to protect their intellectual property. It is functionally identical to the Galaxy SII that they threw a shitfit over and it came out a month before the SII... the front face and UI have the same basic design: the only real differences are that it's slightly thicker, it has a slightly slower processor, and the screen is a lower resolution and slightly smaller. The software at launch time was nearly identical (and *was* identical on the points Apple sued over).

If this was *really* about their software patents, they would have sued over that one, too, but since you can get an Ace for $100 new without a contract ($225 at launch time), they didn't sue.

btw -- if you don't do any gaming on your phone, that phone is quite adequate. The UI is zippy enough, has the same hardware-accelerated bling from a higher end phone, and you can buy it without a contract and not break the bank. I have one, and I am happy with it. There's no ICS update for it, but Gingerbread supports all the features I want out of a phone. :)

When will it end?

[Anonymous Coward]

"The patent covers a system to detect telephone numbers in e-mails so, when the number on the screen is tapped, they can be stored in directories or called without dialing."

Re:When will it end?

[Terry Pearson]

http://cdn.techpp.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/apple-slide-to-unlock.jpg

Slide to unlock was their idea, they have a right to patent it.

No they do not "have a right to patent it."

They have the power to patent it under our current legal system, but patents were not meant for such trivial functionality. This whole "we have a right to patent intuitive design" crap needs to stop. It is not helping spur innovation when you give large companies the right to patent common sense design.

If you want to patent a design on an advanced engine, fine. You want to patent an advanced chemical compound that cures something fine go ahead. But patents should be as limited in duration as they can be and the should only be allowed for complicated subject.

Simple user interface ideas, curved corners, touch screens, and the like should not be patentable. And even if they are patented (because of stupid politics), it should be for a couple years tops.

And this is why Apple sucks...

[Xenx]

I can understand legitimate complaints about patent infringement. I can even almost understand some of the complaints Apple puts forth against Android devices. While I don't necessarily feel they should be winning the cases, I feel that they're at least operating within the system. My issue is with situations like this, where they're pressing for bans when the situation isn't even decided yet. They're just pressing to hurt the competitors as much as possible without actually having to prove foul play.

Re:And this is why Apple sucks...

[gnasher719]

I can understand legitimate complaints about patent infringement. I can even almost understand some of the complaints Apple puts forth against Android devices. While I don't necessarily feel they should be winning the cases, I feel that they're at least operating within the system. My issue is with situations like this, where they're pressing for bans when the situation isn't even decided yet. They're just pressing to hurt the competitors as much as possible without actually having to prove foul play.

Pressing for bans is what everybody else does as well. Like Samsung, HTC, Motorola.

I steal your car. Should I be allowed to drive it until I am convicted in a court? That would obviously be unfair towards you. But for example in the Apple vs. Samsung case, Apple got an injunction but if they lost the case in the end, they would have to pay damages. And they had to pay a bond so that it is guaranteed that the money for paying damages is there if needed.

New Business Opportunity for Mexican Drung Gangs

[PolygamousRanchKid]

Smuggling phones!

It will be like Prohibition, revisited. Rich folks will have the best phones at parties, like they used to have the best booze during Prohibition.

Will Elliot Ness triumph over Al Capone this time . . . ?

Antitrust Anyone

[zippo01]

Am I the only one that wonders why no one is screaming antitrust? I guess Apple feels safe having the USPO fight their battles. I can see this ending badly for Apple down the road if they keep it up.

Re:Antitrust Anyone

[bky1701]

There are quite a few Apple dollars bouncing around Washington DC, even more since they became best of friends with the RIAA and MPAA. I wouldn't hold my breath for the government to save us from Apple any time soon.

Re:Antitrust Anyone

[gl4ss]

..but ms+apple have covered their bases this time, can't accuse them of antitrust. MS,Apple and Nokia have thrown their dealings together, but the arrangements on licensing - and who sues who - are closed from the public(even if they're all publicly owned corporations, funny that).

you see, this way MS doesn't sue their licensees for their other phones(that would be bordering on a no-no).
this way Apple doesn't sue MS licensed products.
this way Nokia+MS don't sue Apple. so effectively they're acting as one party, "by purely consequence".

It's not a trust, it's just "licensing arrangements"(and backroom deals and handshakes, which again are not made public).

Re:These are *software* patents?

[JaredOfEuropa]

The big players in mobile all have their warchest of patents in place. Now they are stepping up the game; apparently it has become necessary to also have a warchest of ongoing lawsuits. Better sue the competition and have 5 cases running against them, then we have something to trade when they decide to sue us in turn.

But they know this: all of this serves quite nicely to keep new players out of the market. If you can get an injunction against a certain product because it has rounded corners, then there's nothing you can't block... unless the competition similarly threatens to block your own products from the market.

Re:This is

[bky1701]

"Patents were never meant to be used to try to kill competition."

No, they were meant to prevent any form of competition until the patent expired. Somehow that is supposed to help us as a society by encouraging people to do... exactly what they had been doing since the Enlightenment started. Not sure whoever came up with that thought it through fully, but boy, have they been trying to justify it since!

Dear manufacturers:

[pla]

Try building your crap in the US. It takes a hell of a lot more effort (and actual evidence presented in a real live US court as opposed to a shadowy meeting with a "committee" of one guy) to have a domestically produced product impounded, than to convince the largely unregulated and capricious CBP to impound something ill-defined.

Domestic fireworks: Okay. Foreign candies with toys inside: Banned.
Domestic hardcore humiliation porn: Okay. Foreign Playboys: Banned.
Domestic overpriced mislabeled antidepressants marketed at kids: Okay. Foreign 100% legit heart meds for 1/10th the price: Banned.

I don't consider myself a bit "HuAH, Made in America" fan, but hey, nice to have someone employed capable of buying your crappy phones, eh?

1984

[LodCrappo]

When Apple famously claimed that "1984 won't be like '1984'", everyone assumed it was because they didn't want an Orwellian situation in the computer industry.
As it turns out, Apple is totally into the idea. They just hadn't perfected the technology back then.