Apple

[morpheus]

Really?  I can't blame Apple for pursuing it, but really, a touch screen smartphone that lets you talk on the phone while using it for other apps is patentable?

So it's not clear whether a prior art argument would work. "The other big question is whether this patent is obvious. When something is 'obvious,' it is not patentable, but it is difficult to make a clear-cut definition of obvious," Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation.com, told BYTE in an email interview.

How did we get to a situation where such things are patentable? The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been issuing a flood of such patents for years, making it difficult for software developers to know what is and isn't off limits. Says Sweeney, "...this patent may be considered by many to be weak and calls into question whether the USPTO is monetarily motivated to issue patents."

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Really?  I can't blame Apple for pursuing it, but really, a touch screen smartphone that lets you talk on the phone while using it for other apps is patentable?

So it's not clear whether a prior art argument would work. "The other big question is whether this patent is obvious. When something is 'obvious,' it is not patentable, but it is difficult to make a clear-cut definition of obvious," Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation.com, told BYTE in an email interview.

How did we get to a situation where such things are patentable? The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been issuing a flood of such patents for years, making it difficult for software developers to know what is and isn't off limits. Says Sweeney, "...this patent may be considered by many to be weak and calls into question whether the USPTO is monetarily motivated to issue patents."

This is unfortunately the way of the world for US software patents.

It's a game everybody plays and everybody loses.

An episode of This American Life covered the situation quite nicely: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/441/when-patents-attack

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Related, from September...

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/09/mostly-pointless-patent-reform-bill-goes-to-obama-for-signature.ars

The United States Senate has approved the America Invents Act, a major overhaul to patent law that switches to a "first to file" rule for granting patents, creates two new processes for challenging already-granted patents, and gives the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) power to set patent fees. Because the House of Representatives passed the bill with identical language earlier this year, the legislation will now go directly to President Obama for his signature. He is expected to sign it, and may tout it during tonight's prime-time address on the economy.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) hailed the legislation as the most significant overhaul of the patent system in decades. But Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) blasted the bill. "This is not a patent reform bill. This is a big corporation patent giveaway that tramples on the right of small inventors," she said.

...

Congress has been wrestling with patent reform legislation since 2005. When we last took an in-depth look at the issue in 2008, we concluded that the legislation then under consideration was not the kind of serious patent reform the nation needs. This year's legislation is weaker still.

For example, the 2008 Patent Reform Act would have reduced the profitability of litigation by reforming how damages for infringement are calculated. These provisions did not make it into the legislation that is now on its way to the Oval Office. Also out are limitations on forum shopping, the practice by which plaintiffs sue in obscure, patent-friendly jurisdictions such as the Eastern District of Texas. No wonder the experts we talked to in last month's Ask Ars story didn't think America Invents would do much good.

...

In short, the long-running battle over patent reform legislation has ended in a standstill. The only winners are the large companies—which supported the switch to "first to file" and other procedural changes—and the patent office itself, which will enjoy a larger budget and greater autonomy. The rest of us lost, because almost all the serious reform ideas wound up on the cutting room floor.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

http://www.mattrichman.net/post/16425003555/takeaways-from-apples-q4-2011

In 2009, Apple sold more iPhones than it did in 2007 and 2008 combined. In 2010, Apple sold more iPhones than it did in 2007, 2008, and 2009 combined. Last year, Apple sold 93.1 million iPhones, slightly more than it did in in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 combined.

[Eli]

http://www.mattrichman.net/post/16425003555/takeaways-from-apples-q4-2011

In 2009, Apple sold more iPhones than it did in 2007 and 2008 combined. In 2010, Apple sold more iPhones than it did in 2007, 2008, and 2009 combined. Last year, Apple sold 93.1 million iPhones, slightly more than it did in in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 combined.

That's the best blog tagline I've ever seen.

[Slaky]

http://www.mattrichman.net/post/16425003555/takeaways-from-apples-q4-2011

In 2009, Apple sold more iPhones than it did in 2007 and 2008 combined. In 2010, Apple sold more iPhones than it did in 2007, 2008, and 2009 combined. Last year, Apple sold 93.1 million iPhones, slightly more than it did in in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 combined.

That's the best blog tagline I've ever seen.

For the lazy:

[Yeti]

http://www.mattrichman.net/post/16425003555/takeaways-from-apples-q4-2011

In 2009, Apple sold more iPhones than it did in 2007 and 2008 combined. In 2010, Apple sold more iPhones than it did in 2007, 2008, and 2009 combined. Last year, Apple sold 93.1 million iPhones, slightly more than it did in in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 combined.

That's the best blog tagline I've ever seen.

For the lazy:

TOO OLD

[BH]

Apple is doing their part to take down China

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Apple is Every single electronics or computer company you've ever heard of are doing their part to take down China

Chances are that, at this very moment, you're surrounded by shit full of parts manufactured by Foxconn'd

Everyone's complicit.

Related:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-16-2012/fear-factory
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Released via FOIA, the FBI's dossier on Steve Jobs.

Via.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Released via FOIA, the FBI's dossier on Steve Jobs.

Via.

Adding...

[Slaky]

Released via FOIA, the FBI's dossier on Steve Jobs.

Via.

Adding...

Holy shit he worked for ISIS?

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Released via FOIA, the FBI's dossier on Steve Jobs.

Via.

Adding...

Holy shit he worked for ISIS?

That cannot be confirmed.

[CBStew]

I just had a Skype video call with my son.  He called my iphone here in Berkeley from his iphone during a marathon that he is running in downtown Tokyo.  His son, my one year old grandson, has been born into a generation that will someday hear about this and say "That was really primitive."

[Chuck to Chuck]

Holy shit he worked for ISIS?

Hell of a boss.