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Aussie Judge Declares Apple-Samsung Patent Battles "Ridiculous"
New submitter Ahab's compliments writes "Score another point for sensible judges — the judge in point wants to know why this dispute over the wireless technologies developed by Samsung and used by Apple shouldn't be settled through mediation. 'Why on earth are these proceedings going ahead?' Bennett asked the lawyers in court today. 'It's just ridiculous.' The judge also rejected a request to hear the various patent infringement claims from either side in separate cases."
I think the judge's intent, especially in refusing to separate the cases, is to wrestle both parties into playing nice, stopping their tantrums, and actually trying to reach a reasonable compromise.
In other words, emphasizing the "civil" in "civil court".
There's nothing like $HOME
Samsung is just defending themselves. If someone attacks you, and you hit them back in an attempt to get them to stop, I'm not going to call you a violent person.
Boycott Apple.
This is bullshit. I don't usually defend faceless corporations, but I do defend the truth. Apple has been attacking samsung for a long time, and since the system is screwed, the only defense samsung has is hitting them back.
Saying they are at each others throats is bullshit. Apple has been at samsung's (and everybody else's) throat for a long time, and samsung is hitting back.
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
It is absurd if a patent set up in the first country must be recognised in a second country, but the second country does not have the power to declare an invalidation which is also recognised in the first.
The implication is that it is more important to create patents (no matter how absurd they are) than to repeal bad patents.
There are many problems of this sort with inter-state EU legislation, too.
Indeed. Congratulations on spotting one of the many imbalances in the current system.
Indeed this is the status quo: if something is patented in one country, other countries have agreed that they too will honor the patent. Yet if something is *invalidated* in one country, there is no requirement that this invalidation is honored elsewhere. And this is true despite it being easy, simple and cheap to get a patent, compared to the enormous expense and close scrutiny that goes into getting one invalidated.
In other news: why does the berne convention only specify that countries should have a minimum length of copyright, and that countries that have too *short* protection are in violation - while saying nothing at all about the maximum duration and allowing countries to set copyright to a million years with no issues. Where's the -balance- in that ?
Keep in mind Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett was referring to why this wasn't in mediation, that's it.
And it's a fair point by the judge, things don't go to negotiation first, they go straight to court. Reminds me of squabbles by rich people in my old home town, fighting over every little stupid perceived slight or whatever, driving their El Dorados over each others lawns, etc. Judge had enough and forced them to sort out who owned what by a court appointed mediator. Judge was furious this family tied up the courts rather than settle things among themselves. Court should be last resort, not first. But I don't suppose you're going to hear legal counsel say that, unless they are company lawyers who would rather be doing something other then fighting in court all the time.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar