Note that copyright is exact opposite of sharing ideas => major driver of the progress.
Copyright was seen as necessary evil to protect investments into expensive R&D.
But tell me what "investment" is needed to come up with idea of:
1) Showing an animated icon in browser's loading area.(by Microsoft)
2) That tablet is a rectangular shape with rounded corners (by Apple)
3) Searching in multiple sources (by Apple)
Apparently patents like this exist only to be used as legal weapons vs competitors.
And then we have rights on music/movies. I doubt Elvis would create less songs inf copyright law protected his work for 10 years, instead of a 100. Oh, and just recently in EU it was "only" 50 years. Now they've changed it to 100. Incidentally, if not the change, one German company would lose rights on Elvis's songs...
"Yes, rectangular device with rounded corners" was the major thing Samsung "violated" according to Dusseldorf Judge, Johanna Brueckner-Hofman and that was a reason to ban it in Germany. (Dutch judge dismissed the case)
Oh, and a helpful guide on how not to infringe on Apple's patents, from Apple's legal brief:
"For the iPhone design, alternative smartphone designs include: front surfaces that are not black or clear; front surfaces that are not rectangular, not flat, and without rounded corners; display screens that are more square than rectangular or not rectangular at all; display screens that are not centered on the front surface of the phone and that have substantial lateral borders; speaker openings that are not horizontal slots with rounded ends and that are not centered above the display screen; front surfaces that contain substantial adornment; and phones without bezels at all or very different looking bezels that are not thin, uniform, and with an inwardly sloping profile.
"[A]lternate tablet computer designs include: overall shapes that are not rectangular with four flat sides or that do not have four rounded corners; front surfaces that are not completely flat or clear and that have substantial adornment; thick frames rather than a thin rim around the front surface; and profiles that are not thin relative to the D’889 or that have a cluttered appearance."
She's a former patent lawyer:
From 2002 until 2008, Koh worked as a litigation partner at the Silicon Valley office of the law firm McDermott Will & Emery representing technology companies in patent, trade secret and commercial civil matters.[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_H._Koh
Agreed. Otherwise it's hard to justify, why Samsung or HTC can produce both Windows and Android phones, while Nokia must be Microsoft exclusive and that with, cough, Microsoft's non-existing market share...
I have watched it. Not only do they have Discovery, National Geo and so on in Dutch, but are pretty good at English and often German, so they don't really need Dutch Broadcast to watch TV.
Nobody forces you to buy gasoline either. You can ride a bike, use public transport, walk.
So why don't we allow these guys to have pricing similar to that of Hollywood? Say, 15$ per gallon.
And then they can come with "improved" Blu-bahda-buhm 3D version of the gasoline, for mere 25$ per gallon.
And if someone figures out how to create cars that won't need to re-fuel, they'll send us virtual gasoline, you know, some nice code that would be required for your car to drive. Copying that code would be breaking the law.
Wouldn't it be right in your books?
PS
The producer who's rights on product by someone who is dead for decades (Elvis) can choose to kindly ask some politicians to increase "copyright protection" from 50 years, to 100 years. But nobody forces you to buy his disks, eh?
"Google announced that WiFi data collected in the Netherlands will be deleted. This move is being made at the behest of the Dutch Data Protection Authority, who gave an order earlier this year that all WiFi data was to be deleted."
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/04/29/2229225/report-finds-google-supervisors-knew-about-wi-fi-data-harvesting
And one more thing, lets not mix "google claims it had no intent to use that data" and "google had no intent to use that data" please.
It's very said when post claiming Google has 60% of the market (in reality they are over 90%) gets modded up as "informative".
Friend of mine, working at myvideo.de, complained about Google dumping youtube ads prices.
And I'm not buying "we've "unintentionally" captured terrabytes and terrabytes of Wi-Fi traffic", sorry.
In other words, they seem to be much less evil than Apple/Microsoft, but they are definitely not saints.
I couldn't care less about nitpicking about how they store it internally.
What is a real problem though, that after I buy something using it (from my PC, mind you), 3rd party programs on my Samsung Galaxy Tab suddenly gain rights to charge me, WITHOUT ASKING my password! (brilliant idea, dear Google) Bum, and you've just purchased non-refundable "5000 Happy Stars" for "Sheeps & Clouds" game for mere 7.99 Euro.
How on Earth, after the story with Apple losing the case for remembering password for 15 minutes (!!!), could Google decide that remembering it forever is a good idea, is beyond me.
FUD in its finest.
1) We are talking about US market, where Apple had about 25% of the market (vs about 15% worldwide) before 4S launch and Google was 50%+
2) There is NO way you can go from 25% to 45% during one quarter in a mature market. Roughly every second android SOLD during that quarter IN US might have been iPhone, yes.
3) In Q4 Apple sold about 37 million smartphones, when Samsung sold about 35 million. Samsung alone is about 24% of the smartphone market Worldwide.
Maybe because "Nokia and some unnamed phone manufacturers have worse condition than Apple" and "Apple has the best condition" are, in fact, two very different statements?
This case is about German court agreeing that FRAND applies to future use, but not for the PAST infringement and that Motorola is right in asking for MORE money for the time when Apple used their stuff without paying them.
Let me see, being couple of years late and despite endless FUD about malware (for instance dolphin browser sending info about sites you visit to "some server" affected both iOS and Android, but was reported as an android problem by most sites), Android has triple market share of iOS and we'll soon see the same story on tablet market, so what eh?
It sure takes a geek to realize you are stuck with bloody itunes when putting stuff on your idevice.
I have a spare wi-fi HDD for you, oh enlightened one.
It is first time I know, that tool vendor claims rights on stuff created with his tools.
And no, thanks, I would prefer world without such "innovations" of Apple.
Slashdot Mirror
Note that copyright is exact opposite of sharing ideas => major driver of the progress.
Copyright was seen as necessary evil to protect investments into expensive R&D.
But tell me what "investment" is needed to come up with idea of:
1) Showing an animated icon in browser's loading area.(by Microsoft)
2) That tablet is a rectangular shape with rounded corners (by Apple)
3) Searching in multiple sources (by Apple)
Apparently patents like this exist only to be used as legal weapons vs competitors.
And then we have rights on music/movies. I doubt Elvis would create less songs inf copyright law protected his work for 10 years, instead of a 100. Oh, and just recently in EU it was "only" 50 years. Now they've changed it to 100. Incidentally, if not the change, one German company would lose rights on Elvis's songs...
I own one (P7500) and they have Samsung logo on the front as well as on the back.
Android is only SLIGHTLY less closed than iStuff, seriously?!??!
Here is the community design.
Oh, and a helpful guide on how not to infringe on Apple's patents, from Apple's legal brief:
"For the iPhone design, alternative smartphone designs include: front surfaces that are not black or clear; front surfaces that are not rectangular, not flat, and without rounded corners; display screens that are more square than rectangular or not rectangular at all; display screens that are not centered on the front surface of the phone and that have substantial lateral borders; speaker openings that are not horizontal slots with rounded ends and that are not centered above the display screen; front surfaces that contain substantial adornment; and phones without bezels at all or very different looking bezels that are not thin, uniform, and with an inwardly sloping profile. "[A]lternate tablet computer designs include: overall shapes that are not rectangular with four flat sides or that do not have four rounded corners; front surfaces that are not completely flat or clear and that have substantial adornment; thick frames rather than a thin rim around the front surface; and profiles that are not thin relative to the D’889 or that have a cluttered appearance."
Apple helped MS make the Windows GUI
Uhm, what? You mean they both "stole" GUI idea from Xerox?
She's a former patent lawyer: From 2002 until 2008, Koh worked as a litigation partner at the Silicon Valley office of the law firm McDermott Will & Emery representing technology companies in patent, trade secret and commercial civil matters.[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_H._Koh
I find it particularly hard to imagine how useless huge heavy tail and colors that cry "eat me" when miles away could survive for so long.
Agreed. Otherwise it's hard to justify, why Samsung or HTC can produce both Windows and Android phones, while Nokia must be Microsoft exclusive and that with, cough, Microsoft's non-existing market share...
http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/
Parent post definitely deserves more than 1 rating.
I have watched it. Not only do they have Discovery, National Geo and so on in Dutch, but are pretty good at English and often German, so they don't really need Dutch Broadcast to watch TV.
ebay.nl sigh. Exactly how is it "better", eh? Not meeting new people.Not helping anyone. Paying atrocious fees to ebay + paypal. Getting scammed.
Nobody forces you to buy gasoline either. You can ride a bike, use public transport, walk.
So why don't we allow these guys to have pricing similar to that of Hollywood? Say, 15$ per gallon.
And then they can come with "improved" Blu-bahda-buhm 3D version of the gasoline, for mere 25$ per gallon.
And if someone figures out how to create cars that won't need to re-fuel, they'll send us virtual gasoline, you know, some nice code that would be required for your car to drive. Copying that code would be breaking the law.
Wouldn't it be right in your books?
PS
The producer who's rights on product by someone who is dead for decades (Elvis) can choose to kindly ask some politicians to increase "copyright protection" from 50 years, to 100 years. But nobody forces you to buy his disks, eh?
"Google announced that WiFi data collected in the Netherlands will be deleted. This move is being made at the behest of the Dutch Data Protection Authority, who gave an order earlier this year that all WiFi data was to be deleted." http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/04/29/2229225/report-finds-google-supervisors-knew-about-wi-fi-data-harvesting And one more thing, lets not mix "google claims it had no intent to use that data" and "google had no intent to use that data" please.
It's very said when post claiming Google has 60% of the market (in reality they are over 90%) gets modded up as "informative". Friend of mine, working at myvideo.de, complained about Google dumping youtube ads prices. And I'm not buying "we've "unintentionally" captured terrabytes and terrabytes of Wi-Fi traffic", sorry. In other words, they seem to be much less evil than Apple/Microsoft, but they are definitely not saints.
I couldn't care less about nitpicking about how they store it internally. What is a real problem though, that after I buy something using it (from my PC, mind you), 3rd party programs on my Samsung Galaxy Tab suddenly gain rights to charge me, WITHOUT ASKING my password! (brilliant idea, dear Google) Bum, and you've just purchased non-refundable "5000 Happy Stars" for "Sheeps & Clouds" game for mere 7.99 Euro. How on Earth, after the story with Apple losing the case for remembering password for 15 minutes (!!!), could Google decide that remembering it forever is a good idea, is beyond me.
FUD in its finest. 1) We are talking about US market, where Apple had about 25% of the market (vs about 15% worldwide) before 4S launch and Google was 50%+ 2) There is NO way you can go from 25% to 45% during one quarter in a mature market. Roughly every second android SOLD during that quarter IN US might have been iPhone, yes. 3) In Q4 Apple sold about 37 million smartphones, when Samsung sold about 35 million. Samsung alone is about 24% of the smartphone market Worldwide.
So 30 years ago we couldn't spare a penny to buy stuff, eh? Oh wait, we actually could.
Maybe because "Nokia and some unnamed phone manufacturers have worse condition than Apple" and "Apple has the best condition" are, in fact, two very different statements?
Mod parent up.
This case is about German court agreeing that FRAND applies to future use, but not for the PAST infringement and that Motorola is right in asking for MORE money for the time when Apple used their stuff without paying them.
Try to compare it to Open Office.
Let me see, being couple of years late and despite endless FUD about malware (for instance dolphin browser sending info about sites you visit to "some server" affected both iOS and Android, but was reported as an android problem by most sites), Android has triple market share of iOS and we'll soon see the same story on tablet market, so what eh?
It sure takes a geek to realize you are stuck with bloody itunes when putting stuff on your idevice. I have a spare wi-fi HDD for you, oh enlightened one.
It is first time I know, that tool vendor claims rights on stuff created with his tools. And no, thanks, I would prefer world without such "innovations" of Apple.