Apples sues HTC over patents
Big news today. Apple has filed suit against HTC over a series of patents. Through a series of patents, Apple is claiming that HTC has created and sold phones both Windows Mobile and Android based that infringe upon Apples own technology. Apple filed suit today and is asking for an injunction against specific handsets that infringe on the patents from being manufactured, distributed, sold or stored anywhere in the US. It’s a big move by the big Apple, but it’s surprising that Apple would go after them. One of the big ones is the patent for Multi-Touch. Steve Jobs himself said that “boy, have we patented it,” when he announced it. Seeing as how Palm introduced the Pre with multi-touch, you’d think that Apple would go after them first. I guess it makes sense since Palm has an impressive portfolio of mobile patents of their own, so going head to head against them would be kind of dangerous.
A lot of people are already guessing that this legal battle will go on for a long time since patent battles almost always take years to handle. HTC is already asking for a Summary Judgment, which could dismiss the entire case on the grounds that it holds no merit. This can be construed because the patents Apple were awarded are too general and broad, giving them too much leeway to interpret what really is their intellectual property. If the Summary Judgment doesn’t get delivered, this case is going to be drawn out and it may eventually pull in Google, Palm, and even Microsoft, all of whom have demonstrated forms of multi-touch and other technologies that Apple claims were their inventions first.
I can see why Apple would want to sue for intellectual property, but seriously, things like pinch and zoom have become to ubiquitous with mobile phones now that I feel it best that Apple just leave it be. Or at least solicit licensing to the other big companies. These features are needed in day to day use and should not be limited to just Apple’s products. Yes, I’m saying all of this and I do indeed own an iPhone myself. I want the features to be available on other products because competition is good for the consumer. It’ll force companies to innovate and we, the consumers, will continue to get better user experiences. Apple, find someway to license these features, because in my opinion, they’re so essential and common now that you may be stripped of the patents and they may become public property!
Picture credit: TiPB
