No kidding. The US patent office has given them ´CLAIM The ornamental design for an electronic device, as shown and described´ see pic below.
So every ultrabook manufacturer now needs to tread carefully because Apple didn´t specify anything more than a few crude pictures. They didn´t tell what it was, so put any electronics in a wedge form and you will unleash the Boeing 747 of lawyers permanently in the air ready to run havoc on your business.
Design patents should really be outlawed. Unfortunately the Korean government has warned manufacturers not to violate these patents. A court verdict to get rid of all the rectangles and wedges would help the industry so much more.
Just before posting this I patented a circle or ellipse form containing electronics, digital content, food or other stuff people are willing to pay money for. What madness and how destructive for innovation.
And yes, in case you wonder, there is prior art. Look for instance at this Sony http://www.weblogsinc.com/common/images/7032616626194684.jpg?0.9680318013340028 The patent is here http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=D661,296&OS=D661,296&RS=D661,296 #Patents #PatentsMax
Design patent != patent … be careful.
#BoycottApple.
Seriously? I thought that stupidity would end with the death of their great leader….
#BoycottApple
and yes there is ample prior art from far before the Asus Zenbook. Take the older Sony Vaio´s. http://www.weblogsinc.com/common/images/7032616626194684.jpg?0.9680318013340028
I will patent the pentagon and get rich!!! DoD get ready for my lawyers!!!! MUHAHAHAHHA!
In EuroSpeak a design patent is a registered design.
You patented CIRCLES? Damn! There goes my pizza business.
Have you mentioned this to Google by the way?
I thought about it +Will Buckley but circular food is more profitable so I will sue your pizza biz first. Then I go after DVD´s, CD´s etc.
+Jan Wildeboer In eurospeak things are different. Model protection and European Design patents differ from the US system.
This is becoming too ridiculous to be funny anymore. Somebody (preferably a sane person, if they still exist) should stop all this nonsense. Have lawyers completely took over Apple?
+Max Huijgen I'm Indian. Can't I file a patent for Zeroes and take them away from Apple's market cap? 😉 #boycottapple
+Max Huijgen but the protection rights from a design patent differ significantly from a patent – also in the US. That's why I always point out they are not comparable.
Also the granting process is completely different.
I had better warn Oreo about the shape of their biscuits…
Just thinking out loud here… Doesn't the Frank Lloyd Wright estate hold the copyright on rectangles?
The the US it's conventional wisdom that there are certain things you can't patent. Like a chair, table, a box…etc. you could only patent the technology involved in the innovation of the designs. That apparently is no longer the case…stupid!
Well, one thing is certain: Apple isn't cool anymore.
In the UK trademarks are registered but the design has to be unique and not commonplace. A word like "Apple" for instance cannot be registered but the symbol Apple uses to Brand it's product with can. I would have thought, in any part of the world, to identify a rectangular, circular or any other geometric shape, as unique qualifies as insane or at best myopic.
+George Kozi bingo!!!
Not surprised at all
+George Kozi *Sad but true* !! (With James Hetfield's voice)
Wtf.. why no bold ?
The actual patent filing doesn't claim patents on 'wedge shaped ultrabooks'. That's Max's chosen title for this post.
Apple applied for, and was granted a patent for the very specific design of the MacBook Air as documented in their images, including the black bar hinge, the round rubber feet it stands on, the curvature of the lid, the placement of the ports, the metallic vs. plastic parts of the case etc.
This could just as well be a patent to protect them against people making a complete counterfeit knock-off from someone copying that look 100%, the same way people are making knock-off Rolex' and designer handbags.
OMG i have to get home NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are at least 4 patent infringing boxes in the fridge containing cheese and meat.
+Joost Schuur But isn't that like patenting the Cherry on the top of a Cherry Bakewell tart?
US patent office is a large bureaucracy ridden with mistakes (stopped short of using word fools, but it was close) who really knows what is going on inside the "office" system has not been changed for ages, process is medieval, It helps to have extensive documentation, something Apple certainly does (rich company with large legal department)
+Will Buckley There's a dozen specific details in their pics that you could apply in a narrow interpretation of the patent. Much more than just putting a red cherry on a circle of white icing.
I came across THIS patent by searching for 'wizard hat' on Google Patents. A perfect example of a pointless patent with crude pictures. I laughed so hard… http://www.google.com/patents?id=s3mZAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false
the current patent system only justifies piracy.
Thanks +Joost Schuur I can't help but feel that as ports, hinges, feet can be assumed for most devices, slim is the new black and function decides shape (in most cases), Apple is pushing the boundries beyond prevention of outright, like for like copying and into protectionism against innovation and competition.
The Samsung case in particular shows this where Apple's litigation on one feature has prevented the manufacturer importing into the US (until the matter has been decided).
This is getting too ridiculous now. Why do judges in the US not rule the same way as judges in Europe and just laugh at these claims while unceremoniously sweeping them off the table?
Where's the money in that +Hayo Jongbloed ? 🙂
Because any government run operation in the States is a f* disaster (minus military and security, because people are very patriotic here) some new designs are in place (by very progressive conservatives to change the situation) but who knows how long this will take.meantime, best of luck gentlemen (and ladies) (great post)
Very sad company and strategy
even the cardboard tubes or TP are patented.
Now, this is something I don't understand and it pertains to freedom of choice (my favourite subject:) It is possible these days with advanced OS (such as Linux distro these days) and n-core CPU's to totally bypass Apple products, iif it comes to design power-stations one could add cut edge Nvidia cards all for fraction of the cost of Apple machine, Now , I am not the type of peron to buy a product because it looks good, but many prefer beautiful cute shapes, let them have the patent, important patents lie in the domain of microprocessor technology where the ambiguity is much lower, however there is an ogoing "battle" between rivals Intel and AMD (constant) never ending 🙂 another upsetting factor is that patent law is costing consumer, because its legal perturbations are passed on to them.
How about we stop patenting shapes in general. And I don't buy the other argument "some people might mistakenly buy a knockoff" either. I don't need
Appleto make decisions for me. If I'm stupid enough to buy a POS that looks like Apple, thinking that I'm somehow cheating the system, then let me be. I will eventually learn the difference. This argument that Apple is trying to "help" me is BS. Apple should worry about their own products and not what everyone else is making.The reason I bought the fist iPhone was because it was the best thing on the market at the time. Let's go back to that Apple. I liked you a lot better when you were winning me over with innovative technology, not when you eliminated enough competition that I have no other choice but to buy your crap.
A design patent only covers the appearance of an object. The shape. The appearance. Exactly how it looks. Utility patents cover how things work or function. Design patents are easy to get and I have a few of them myself. Utility patents are more difficult to get because most ideas we come up with have already been thought of and put to market.
The design patent also covers such things as star wars toys. Without the patent you would have major forgery.
On the subject of patent, I issued a cross post in response (and kind of agree) to totally abolish patent law in software industry, and topic there was time between R@D and actual product in the market place. I said "I was part of submitting a software patent. the process is interesting that it is never guranteed that your patent will be approved in fact there is a probation "period" also simultaneous request for the same idea (not yet called patent) are not prohibited, a year or two can pass by, meantime no companies are prohibited from writing software, build hardware etc, suddenly a patent gets awarded, a company that already has product in the market might face legal action (and it often does) this happens all the time, so completely abolishing patent law could have benefits in the sense of above, preventing legit business from having rug pulled from under feet..
Control and power
Geez, I'm patenting my brain, all brains similar to mine will not be able to think without paying me loyalties anymore. Beware the wrath of my lawyers!
Damn Apple
Getting patents for shapes will help Apple to build their own coffin. #BoycottApple
From Twitter:
Apple sues elevator company, claims level advancement method too similar to iOS Game Center.
#bogusgamingnews #Apple #GameModo
nhu
This is stupid. After patenting for swipe to unlock (really, like patenting swipe to unlock???) they did this. Stupid.
I heard that apple has the patent on being total assholes too
What will happen to my Dell Studio, its wedge shaped and 4 year old.
They aren't patenting any old wedge shape, its this exact layout. If they don't do this, mfg's will literally clone the exact thing they are doing down to the millimeter. I'm not saying you can't have competition but yknow… down to the millimeter? lol.
It's the same basic shape laptops have been for several years. Big in the back for the battery with a gentle slope towards the front for ergonomics.
Damn trolls. #boycottapple
That sounds REALLY painful.
Successful companies use every advantage under the law. Are you mad because they are successful? Or are you mad because the law lets people fill out paper work that makes innovation and product development more complicated?You surely can't be angry with Apple for making products, offering them for sale, and then protecting their interests, can you?
Just how much is Apple paying the patent office?
Ignorance is always a bad starting point for advice . . .
There are three basic types of patents: UTILITY, PLANT and DESIGN.
Jan Wildeboer is absolutely correct!
Design patents is the weakest kind, as it only protects the exact shape and proportions shown in the drawings (that is why almost no design patent includes anything else but drawings). Design patents have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with operation, functionality or even the use of the device shown in the drawings; it is all about the same exact shape . . .nothing more.
One of these days they are going to patent apples as well and every tree will have to pay the company royalties for bearing fruit (and you for eating it!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/isheep/7499370554/lightbox/
Nag-nag 🙂 I'll patent my take on all this then: I enjoy the fantastic Apple products. They increase my effectivity every single day, they work flawlessly and they look almost as beautiful as my wife +Charlotte B. Rosenstand. Maybe I can get my own patent on just being a very satisfied and happy Apple customer that leaves all the legal stuff to them while I make money?
Quick….. has anyone got a patent for a phone although I am not sure if apple would be interested in a phone!
+Tarik BENTOUMI Apple isn't a "creative person". It may have creative people in it's employ, but it is a company. Companies maximize profit. The law is slanted towards making it possible for companies to maximize profits, and compete. Sharing is a "new thing", and a thing that although useful and admirable, may reign in the amount of realizable profit. The laws don't favor it, and frankly neither does Samsung. If Bill had better marketers, he would have made a bigger splash with the tablet in 2000 (either that, or it wasn't really "ready for primetime"). If you can, by filling out some papers, make it more difficult for your competition to compete with you, why wouldn't you?
Bottom line? Don't like it, work to change the laws…
But the problem, even if the patent is very specific, is that anything that looks similar to the patented product from 10 feet away will come under attack.
While I agree that apple has gone to far this is the nature of the government these days. Anybody can sue any person or company for any reason. I don't fault the company I fault the judges for letting such ludicrous lawsuits go through the system.
Oh for frak's sake.
the US patent system is astoundingly ridiculous
+Clyde Svagzdys I wonder if the motivation behind the innovation is the most important thing, or if the money is? If you are trying to innovate because the idea is so large, and needs to be given life, then you just "innovate". If you are doing it because you want a "slice of the Apple pie", then maybe your motivation is leading you (as the innovator) down a fraught path. We stopped being "Inventors and Innovators" and became "entrepreneurs" along time ago, back when Hewlett and Packard left their garage…
+Mark Sharma God never shows up to contest the suits, you always end up with a summary judgement…
I hate Apple so much.
y
Because of their ridiculous anti-competitive behavior. And Apple fanbois are the worst.
Apple is the greatest computer company there is. There won't be any patent suits because all of the other machines are toys, not computers.
Apple is playing Dirty game.. F##K apple you coward
Hahahahaha, yeah, like all of those Apple servers. That don't run the world.
Whatever. Everyone gets mad because Apple releases awesome stuff and then everyone clones Apple and they fight the clones.
See? The worst.
Apple is sick. They need help
This is ridiculous!!!
+Alexa Antonaras I am informed. That's why none of the other phones released ever match the craftsmanship and design of Apple, unless they copy it later. People get so mad about Apple, but they really should be mad about Android makers ripping off Apple left and right.
Tarik BENTOUMI Yes! It could very well be considered a "new" design; however, I would consider it more likely that, if it is a very minor change like that, it would be held as an obvious modification.
I think people's confusion comes from the fact that the word "design" have very different engineering and IP legal meanings.
God I hate apple. They now just look to cause trouble all the time. Crazy fruit company.
Hmm my Dell XPS M1330 from 2007 looks just like that shape ……. Runs Linux though
+Patrick Alexander Dude that's some strong stuff you are smoking. All Apple products are over priced, under performing pieces of crap. The only way someone can argue why they own one is for video editing or photo editing. Other than that there is no reason to buy one unless you want to "look cool." Apple has not had a huge breakthrough in any area of computers. Apple is capable of marketing their asses off to get as many iSheep to follow as they do.
apple is the best!
This sucks! I love my old mb pro, and I bought an air a few months ago. It's a bummer because I won't be buying any more Apple products. I even feel ashamed to whip out the air. Maybe I should sell it and get a pc ultrabook. #boycottapple
My 4 year old Sony laptop is wedge shape Sony should go after apple
You never see people so angry with Milk companies. They never argue about which brand is better. Where are all the Milk forums? Where are all the "Milk Fanboys"?
+Blaine Magee I'm not smoking anything. Apple products aren't overpriced. Oh, that new Android phone is $199 jesus! oh wait, the same price as an iPhone. My Mac mini was $500 and it's a kickass machine and the most energy efficient desktop machine there is. If you knew anything, you'd realize that all of Apple's competitors just throw crazy specs at it, but then fail at simple things like the ability to scroll a webpage without stuttering. Apple has employees that work on every single little facet of their devices to make sure that every last detail is flawless. They engineer their own CPUs to make their amazing technology. The retina displays in their computers, iPads and iPhones still beat out almost every other display on the market. Learn some facts before just dismissing one of the greatest technology companies there is.
wow, I was just away for a short while and this post went wild!
Apple is slowly but certainly becoming my most hated brand.
sad
+feloneous cat you mean voting anything other than the status quo. Republican, Democrat, Aristrocrat, Laundromat, doesn't matter who you vote for. As long as they adhere to the Status Quo of the corporate world, this will always happen.
+Patrick Alexander – "They engineer their own CPUs to make their amazing technology." Did Apple buy Intel, or were you just a tad over broad in that statement?
Fuck apple.
+Johan Basson You mean in the same way that I "really hate" this?
Kate Upton Does the Cat Daddy Official Uncut
+Gail Tipton Good point. But I do not only blame the judges (legal system), but also the ones exploiting it.
+Patrick Alexander You live in a lie. Please don't tell me your beloved Apple was here even before Big Bang. It is OK to like and favor a company, but you don't need to be blind. I'd like to see for example how is Microsoft copying Apple.
What is disappointing is how people go overboard without knowing details and paying attention to the facts. Why shouldn't Apple protect themselves from cloners etc? If you're really upset, then go after the patent office if you think this is wrong. Every other company is doing it why are you picking on Apple?
Apple is getting ridiculous with this and they need to cut it out. They just nervous they will lose their edge. What if TV manufacturers patented their shapes?
+Man M But the upside is that you will get to put a "Baboon's big red butt" against your ear, whenever your phone rings…
+Natasa Stevanovic Have you not used Windows 7? They cloned a lot of the design of the whole thing from Apple. Hell Apple had the first major GUI operating system and then Microsoft came along and cloned it. People wait for Apple to innovate, then sit back and try to copy.
+Max Huijgen So how do you suggest Apple protects itself from companies that just make copies of their products? Companies like Asus and Samsung making billions on copy past and reverse engineering. Just look at the Zenbook. It even looks like MBA inside. Nobody ever accused SONY VAIO Z of been a clone of MBA cause it looks unique.
Aren't majority of laptops wedge shaped? Haha the things people will do for money and that 'we did it first' feeling…
No the majority of laptops are rectangular blobs. Apple innovated the design of this and then everyone followed.
Have you seen any new feature in ios 6 that's not already in android
+Patrick Alexander More misleading information from you. Apple got the GUI from Xerox.
So soon other manufactors can't make any good looking devices because Apple patented everything 🙁
Reminds of the very interesting way that when mickey mouse is about to fall into public domain, the laws are suddenly changed again… like magic! i completely agree that this is not good business for any innovators.
simply US is whole stupid
#banapple
Apple is Innovation company in every manner. Probably, they will patent for breathing air and then they will say pay for it.
Look at what happens….Steve Jobs dies and Apple returns to the days of old that helped sink them in the 80's. This just continues to show everyone that Apple no longer cares about the consumer, they care about answering to Wall Street.
The entire patent system is totally broken.
if there is actually prior art, then it really shouldnt be a problem when a competing company goes to court over this. So many people scream about apples patents and their efforts to protect their IP without understanding any of the patent process.
+Patrick Alexander hmmm u think microsoft cloned the the design well think again… apple software is based on unix platform which is free so most of the linux distros out there have similar interface called gnome ..i hope u know that :P.if u have used a linux distro u would know from where apple is stealing ideas from :P.u just see one side of the ball game 😀 apple also does copy innovations from others but they are not noticed by fan boys like u 😀 don t be offended thats the truth…
After years of disliking Apple, there were a few months when I was impressed by Apple. After the recent patent litigation, my impression has turned negative.
Interesting
hehehe… Apple is hilariously evil and cool
#boycottapple I can't believe that they actually have this patent. This is retarded. Does the patent office have any idea what they're actually trying to do with this or was the man behind the curtain just pressing the buttons without giving a single fuck?
Insane
Well done Apple! What's next? banana-shaped electronics?
Cool Stuff
aaahaaaaa…
So much for innovation in the world, pretty soon nothing will be improved upon because Apple will own all the patents.
Prior art: Google Galaxy Nexus.
What the hell ?
IF APPLE SUCKS SO BAD WHY DOES EVERY COMPANY COPY THEM SOO MUCH????
It's a double standard, If apple was SO CRAZY in there idea's WHY DOES EVEYONE COPY THEM???
#boycottapple is a symptom. #patentreform is the cure. Let's get #patentreform trending instead.
well apple paid off the right government officials they're all for sale,that's how corporations work,buy and pay off everything to get what it wants.
US Patent office = retard.
I will never buy an Apple product
Google needs to patent breathing air
Darn Apple!!!!!!!
Google should patent the sphere….
This has gotten beyond ridiculous. #boycottapple
So to sum up, Apples are delicious, but you should try other fruit occasionally?
+Joost Schuur you´re right that there is more detail in the patent, but this is the "CLAIM The ornamental design for an electronic device, as shown and described" from the design patent like I say in my post with the attached drawings.
I know that that the devil is in the detail, but Apple tried to make its design as broad as possible.
Nothing new… Apple has been the biz of giving an unsuspecting public a wedgie for many years.
Ah, I now understand +Joost Schuur´s confusion. The drawings have more detail, but in patent law the trick is not to draw lines as these will limit your claim. You use dashed lines to indicate possibilities so the ports, feet, hinge etc. are not restricting the patent. Only the solid wedge form is ´hard´.
They just lost 1 big trial against THC! So whats stopping them from loosing all cases by filling retarded patents? AND who does accept these docs? Some old ladies?
I wonder if Apple's lawyers have considered digging up the decomposed body of the Triumph Motor Company and suing them over the TR7.
+Mark Sharma Wrong! "The Apple A5 and A5X are systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) designed by Apple Inc." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A5
If only more people knew of the underhand business tactics Apple uses. Patenting shapes? Seriously?
It's a design idiots! You can patent a design. Not a shape.
That´s stretching the word ´design a processor´ very far +Patrick Alexander It´s a slightly modified ARM design and the modifications were done by a company Apple subsequently bought. I would side with +Mark Sharma
Everyone here should take a deep breath, read up on design patents (as opposed to utility patents), and calm down.
I say the Sinclair ZX-80 is prior art.
this post divides those who understand original design from those who doesn't… I'd love to compare lifestyle of the two!
Check my other post of today +Chris McDonald *Apple Loses “Slide-to-Unlock” Patent in Britain: Now What?* https://plus.google.com/u/0/112352920206354603958/posts/GLpddUsHaY7 written for +EuroTech
The US Patent office either likes money or is really stupid. Hmmm I wonder which one it could be ….?
This is awesome!
Apple legal will run the company into the ground, the backlash will continue to grow. If Jobs was still alive, he would choose his battles with more care.
Remember what happened when Apple forced Jobs out? Anybody? Share price under $2. It won't take long…the vision thing was his genius…nobody at Apple has the vision
Oh, yes I do have two Macs at the house, a Cube and a G4…very old stuff, I get the feeling that they may outlast the company at this rate.
#boycottapple
+Max Huijgen They used parts by other people, but they specifically engineered their custom design of the chip they used. My point was that most other companies just throw parts together. Apple specifically engineers every single part in their phone to work in perfect harmony with what they are trying to accomplish. Apple products are not just gadgets, they are works of art. I know people think I'm trolling, but I'm not. Jony Ive got knighted because he's that awesome.
correct +Mark Sharma
What Apple is doing is blocking growth and technology advancement. We all know they release new improvements to their iPhones over time. Apple knows that companies like Google has a vision to have technology a apart of our everyday lives. Apple doesn't want that, look at the features they introduced, they are behind what Google has already done.
+Mark Sharma So what if Samsung made it! Apple designed it! That's my point.
But Apple is copying design patent of #sony tablet s
Apple is looking into submitting a patent on the thumb. They will call it "Apple stylus" and sue everyone on the planet for owning two without their approval. They will ask a Judge to place a ban request on the production of new units (babies) as they would further infringe on their patented "stylus".
Does'nt matter how many patents they have Apple products will always be overpriced tat . All thier handsets prior to the 4s were full of samsung electroncs. So I bought the.best handset.the Galaxy s 11 .In fact apple should apply for.a patent under the term overpriced shit as noone would want infringe.on that
How does this crap get through the USTPO?
+Patrick Alexander .. Erm Samsung make the CPU's and HDD's for Apple LG make the screens all Apple does is look through a parts cataloge and order the components . True they do use a Brit to actually draw and design thier stuff .
Amazon patented One-Click technology. Now if you want to talk about dumb patents, talk about that one.
Does'nt matter how many patents they have Apple products will always be overpriced tat . All thier handsets prior to the 4s were full of samsung electroncs. So I bought the.best handset.the Galaxy s 11 .In fact apple should apply for.a patent under the term overpriced shit as noone would want infringe.on that
Of the same mind +Griff Ferrell
Didn't Sony come out with a wedge shaped table as few month's ago.
Sony should probably sue Apple.
Jobs would have kept Apple in order 🙁 By the way the patent is for the design not the shape 🙂
The entire patent system should be scrapped until they can fix it. How the hell can garbage like this be patented?? Seriously! I'm thinking other manufacturers can cite 3rd grade math class as "prior art"…
Apple is the leading brand in the market. You should all ask yourselves "Before apple invented the swipe to unlock feature, what was i swiping and unlocking before?" Exactly! Nothing! Keep up the good work Apple!
How come apples aren't suing Apple. If I was a Granny Smith right now I'd be litigating like crazy!!!
Rotten apples
+Ashlee Saunders It's called slide to unlock and we used it to open locked gates…
No wonder lawyers in the US are making so much money. Stop lambasting the bankers and start scrutinizing the lawyers.
Ok Patrick, I'll just patent rounded edges then.
+Ben Zweber I don't think you can patent shapes…
+Ashlee Saunders The first electronic touchscreen device to use swipe-to-unlock was the Neonode N1m, and it was introduced around half a year before Apple filed the patent.
+Ashlee Saunders … are you serious? Actually, completely serious?. Try doing just a little research on the subject, keywords: palmOS, Windows Mobile, idranktheapplecoolaide.
If an iPhone is a work of art then so is a house brick ,
Sad sad,.. patents are a joke,.. long time ago Nintendo tried to patent "jumps" in games because they use it for donkey kong.. but they fail because was so general.. Apple would succeed for sure!! They are American and is big money for US.. Sad but true!
granted i should really be mad at the patent office, but i'm seriously thinking about boycotting apple. this is making me sick. #boycottapple
u can't patent clothing designs, why would hardware designs be ok? this is ridiculous
+Alex Williams. How do you slide open a gate if it is locked? Locked gates need to be unlocked first.
Don't you see that they need to patent the shapes of their devices? ..they'll be producing them exactly the same, unmodifed and exactly the same, for at least the next 45 years…
WOW. Really? Toys? My favorite thing about the brand-new shiny iPad 3 is the actual physical button on the face used to switch between apps! How retro! I have a Galaxy Nexus, and I can see why Apple had to sue. It blows an iPhone completely away. Apple knows that the massive Android development has finally caught up and surpassed, so it now turns to obstruction.
THat means that you, the consumer, are prevented from having superior technology. Hope you like your iTunes account little boy. They're so cute when their young, aren't they?
I thought British Leyland had the patent on wedge shape with the release of the Triumph TR7?? ⊙﹏⊙
Next up Apple will patent the colors "black", "white", and sue the Earth for the patent on aluminum.
If you ask me, a door stop should serve as "previous art" discrediting the patent.
+Rob Bryant They are patenting designs, not shapes…. 😛
I cant wait to purchase the next Apple iPad!
+Jeremy Chiaramonte You seem to be missing the point. They are patenting a shape. If you look at the actual patent there is nothing on there that is a specific design. The hinge, the front, and the sides all show that there is nothing specific on there yet.
WTF?!
Rayos
yeah alex you got it right.
Total BS!
I can't wait till God comes and sues Apple for using his design of an "apple" and sends them to hell…lol 😀
US patent office run by the most dumbest people on earth.
why so foolish to allow patent every square and circles?????
If Xerox had patented their graphical interface, we would probably still be using computers that you have to program.
It's simple, the US patent office get money for every patent processed, and they don't bear responsibility for bogus patent (it's the court's business to determine whether a patent is invalid). So yes, they just won't give a shit
Apple seem more selfish…what ashame
Is there a some kind of aphasia that occurs when you people sit down to respond to comments. Is it the word "Apple" that causes the confusion and fits of denial?
Apple is not gaining patents to circles, squares or rectangles. They are gaining patents for the piece as a whole.
We can argue about prior art this or that, but show me a phone prior to the first iPhone that had similar design AND function. Show me a netbook or laptop that had a similar design AND function.
I am not talking about inidvidual pieces of tech that can be found here or there, but a completely designed, holistic piece of anything that preceeded Apple's version. Waiting.
What is clear is that several companies are in a race to copy everything Apple does, including their business models.
Their leader was a crybaby. This used to be a free country. Henry Ford didn't cry like a bitch when someone else made a car. Now we all have choices. apple is a communist corporation that can't deal with competition. I'm sending this from a Samsung galaxy nexus. Suck it apple!!!!!!!
The US Patent Office REALLY need a makeover..seems like those clowns approved everything that crApple sends their way…(assuming with a thick enveloped full of Benjamins) #patentreformnow #patentreform
that's just ridiculous… and what does apple think when sony released their very first android tablet the S1? was that not a wedge? and how about those ultrabooks that's already been released by various manufacturers as well that also has a tapered profile when viewed from the side? patent a shape? apple is seemingly becoming crazy, greedy and jealous of other manufacturers' success… can't take a competition huh?
Smh…
I can't believe the would even be something you could get a patent on. Seems quite general and it is my understanding that a patent should be for something unique.
Can I patent the ability to raise a patent? This should single handedly stop all other ppl raising patents and promote a creative free thinking world.
Lol, I should copyright copyrighting.
+Jamie Munro Are you talking about yourself?
2004 sony vaio x505 wedge design.
Why are u on it then
Don't cry & create something of ur own. Why everyone start copying something successful from Apple & crying that they have every right to do so?
#boycottapple
My concern is that although Apple contributed to the growth and advancement of tech, they aren't the only player that contributed. Actually, in a lot of cases Apple's implementations aren't even the best use of current technology as their devices will in many cases ignore industry standards, while charging a premium. They're popular and in some cases even good, but that doesn't translate into being the best example of current technology used. Apple marketing department deserves as much if not more credit than the R&D department.
By filing this patent Apple is preparing for the next chapter of their Patent troll legacy as far as I'm concerned.
that's some news
the coming ultra books are a lot more faster cheaper and fast processing leap tops and notebooks
http://computernewsreport.com/2010/thin-laptops-macbook-air-wasnt-the-first/
Apple is unbelievable. They are so childish. When they get beaten at their own game they cry and patent everything. How about creating something useful and not charging users a fortune for it, just like what real competitors do…..
If I put 2 usb ports on the side I will be fine…. Or an sd reader or basically anything so it doesn't look like the picture.
don't bite an apple on its side. they may sue you for using their logo. :b
Agreed to Andrius ..
Everyone in the android community should patent the use of a fruit in a tech product then sue apple
Well apple is just going too far…!!!
Fortunately just an US patent. I bet you can patent even fart sounds in US.
Apple is such a hero company. 😀 taking money out of the ( most of the time ) dumb man's pocket, who doesn't know his money serves to stop general technological innovation, born out of fear from more intelligent and decent companies, who do what they do out of passion. Let me say this out loud: Google at the fore-front.
Kinda looks like a Galaxy Nexus
Another relentless assault that needed not be displayed on G+.
Patent office is even more stupid than Apple that let these kinds of "shapes" being registered. It's like someone comes and patent the "rectangle"!!!
Don't hate the playa, hate the game. It's almost to where "What's Hot" on G+ means "What are the Apple haters saying now?"
Seriously +Alex Wilson you sound like a fanboy apologist. Go do some prior art reading before claiming how brilliant Apple is and how much they deserve their backs patted for it.
One day we will investigate the patent Office to find that Apple is paying someone big money payoffs to get these patents pushed through….
#boycottapple
#boycottapple
This makes me sick. Yet again a complete halt on innovation in another area. Why does the US PO keep allowing Apple to have the most minimal specifications and generic patents. Maybe there should be an inquiry into this. !!!!!!!!!!!
+Alex Wilson Uh patenting Pinch to Zoom is very different from patenting rectangles and wedges. Touch screen candy bar form phones had been around long before the iPhone. They didn't invent that and people are upset because they are somehow allowed to patent it.
I would say that this infringes upon creative freedom, but I think someone already patented that.
+Alex Wilson I do tech for a living and have been following tech since before Apple and was once impressed by "iProducts." Let me be the first to tell you that Oracle/JavaScript is and has always been open source, Apple has stolen so many ideas from Android over the years that there was even a news article written about things that iPhone is now getting that Android has already had for a year or more but only the iPhone users don't care, that Apple has been starting all of these patent wars and has gone so far as to preprogram Siri to only say that Apple products are the best when in fact more than 10 Android devices out-spec, out-maneuver, and out-perform/out-quality the iProduct line… Apple even went so far as to cheapen out (for themselves… the price range is still the same for the customers) and glue/solder in parts in new mac-books so that they cannot be upgraded except by shipping them in or taking them in and they have the highest factory-worker suicide rate in the modern world…. not to mention one of the lowest payrates for their factor-worker…..
Going back to your post, we'll also leave alone that there is nothing innovative about a square and that Apples products haven't even evolved in form since their inception so your point about design is moot.
+John Battelle Because Apple is a US company. Feel so sick of the US patent system…
Hello sunrise west
Lovely throught…
This is total madness! Aghrrr!!
Somebody needs to give Apple a wedgie.
It was Microsoft and now Apple – I can predict the concept 'OPENSOURCE' that slammed the patent holding bullying software vendors – very soon into hardware. This is not just irritating, but a huge restriction on new device manufacturers to bring cheap and effective products to consumers. Just like FSF we need a new revolution of FHF ! not free to get-but free to create
Apple is fascist
+Alex Wilson 1) Samsung isn't suing every other phone maker they view as a threat or trying to remove competitive products from the consumers.. 2) Name one thing apple actually "invented", just one… anything.
and to answer your very important question.. I think Samsung invented the curved touch screen first found on the Nexus.
oh, and the Super AMOLED screen
#BoycottApple
Its very simple. Let us put these suckers out of business. #dontbuyApple
Apple = clown
Why dont apple sue forest gump movie over using their name and logo in da movie…apple suck
Apple has lost it… #boycottapple
This really pisses me off.
You guys, because of shit like this, we as consumers LOSE. Speak with your wallet! Don't let these bastards get away with it.
This better not affect the 2012 Samsung Series 9 that I've been wanting to buy since I first heard of it. It is a beautiful PC that absolutely stomps any MacBook and is about $1,000 cheaper.
Damn, I hate you Apple! #boycottapple
#BoycotApple
Apple should patent stupidity as they seem to be cornering the market in it!
+Jamie Munro care to elaborate how Google+ is full of idiots and how no one uses it? You're obviously an Apple fanboy as you're just like a Mac. All appearance, no substance. You insult without any facts and then run away.
I dropped Facebook over a year ago and haven't looked back. I've had nothing but intellectual discussion with people all over the world whereas Facebook is nothing but the equivalent of frat boy day to day drivel. Maybe you should learn how to use a product before you rag on it. Just because your dumb ass friends aren't on it doesn't mean no one is on it. Please, do us all a favor and leave and keep your friends off. It's funny how this is the fastest growing social network internationally yet "no one is using it." And you say we don't know that we're talking about? Look in the mirror, dipshit.
Unfortunately we'll see you again when G+ takes over although I sincerely hope all the idiots on Facebook stay where they are.
Suing left and right 'cause they want to use their lawyers waiting and only receiving big salaries with no work at all.
I guess the shape of my house violates some patent. Better demolish it and build a new one.
Um my Transformer prime is wedge shaped but was out ages ago, so how can you patent something everyone else has. Your patent system is the laughing stock of the world.
#boycott Apple… Fuck apple there a bunch of patent trolls who since steve jobs died has no innovative cells left in there bodies. All they know how to do is file a patent similar to others and hope to get it first and when they do they claim others stole their idea fuck you apple I hate you more and more.. I don't want to here anything from others regarding me being a hater of apple or anything cuz I owned both android and apple and I got rid of all my apple product. Gnex all day baby!!!
Hate the game, not the player.
+Alex Wilson haha.. ok, lets see..
pinch to zoom = University of Toronto in 1984,
true hd display = Sony,
clicking phone numbers in a text/email/web and being taken to the dialer is actually what a phone is supposed to do and the technology was originally = Commodore, way before cell phones,
slide to unlock is a natural motion so.. = mother nature,
the app store = Linux..
here's a few more, all cell phones are based on the original Motorola patents ( ya know, the company that actually invented the cell phone)
iCrap screens are made by Sony, and most internal parts are made by Samsung. that sucks huh? ha
try Google search… hurry, before apple "invents" clicking in a google search bar to search for information on a mobile device.
#BoycottApple
What! My Dell XPS 13 ultrabook is a wedge! I hate apple, always trying to monopolize everything! That's why I have the HTC One instead of an iPhone, which by the way is not up to par with HTC.
Fuck apple. Regardless of what they put out, i won't be buying any of their overpriced, closed os shite.
i dont speak apple, sorry lol
Is this for real? Apple is ridiculous !!! Well for sure I am not buying from them anymore.
Looks like something radical will be have to be done, like coming up with original designs.
+Bernardette Falcon Macbook Air, released 2008. Ultrabook, released, 2011. Case closed.
+Paul Atkins Transformer Prime, 3 years after Macbook Air.
It's like patenting shape of breasts and sue every plastic surgeon doing breast. I'm not Apple buyer and never will be. No matter what they "invent".
US patent office must be full of idiots who give apple such absurd patents. I hope they ain't give apple a patent for size and shape of erect d*ck.
Yeah, how do you patent a shape? This is absurd.
+Blaine Magee What about those ports on the side, also they are patenting their type of hinge with the hidden fan.
just stupid…
Good points. Some patents are simply rediculous. Hey, I'm sure the legal profession don't mind a little slow-down in innovation.
unbelievable
If something is to good to be true it probably is. That is how i felt about Android from the day 1 when I got my first device G1. Somebody somewhere developed all that intellectual property. Some of it is open source but some of it clearly is not. Take pinch to zoom feature that everybody takes for granted now and kinetic scrolling that was one of the main selling features of the UI. Using natural human gestures that are intuitive even for a child (try give a 3 y/o a BB and see what happens). I was honestly surprised how Google and other OEMs can get away with using it for so long. That does not stop me from enjoying it though. If I was Apple I would through all my money to stop others using pinch to zoom and kinetic scrolling and other original iPhone UI elements for at least 7 years. That would not stop but foster the innovation since Samsung and Nokia would have to be forced to invent something fresh rather than just copy and call it open source and dig out ancient tech gizmos that nobody ever hear about to prove that tech already existed.
Wow what is left in shapes…circles,squares,rectangles,triangles, everything getting patented….hmm got an idea…..how abt boomerang shapes….that is send flying up their ass!
Sometimes I feel like the Apple's $100bn is going somewhere else. To get the patents rather than innovating new things. Moreover its utter madness on the part of patent office to give this. I hope they do know there is something called as common sense in the world
I don't see how this is a shape patent :/
#boycottapple
It's amazing how much crap Apple gets for doing all what the other companies get away with. Every company claims to be innovative, but Apple is the one that gets the bashing for doing so.
It's funny really. No one takes the other companies seriously no matter what they do. They say the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.
No one cares
pinche apple!!!!
This has to be a late april fools joke
#boycottapple
+Max Huijgen bro its sheet 3 of 27. it looks like the patent for MacBook.
+Alex Wilson huh? those are all the points you mentioned.. you claimed apple invented all those things, I corrected every mistake you made. you're now claiming none of those points have anything to do with the conversation.. you're a fucking clown…
#boycottapple
+Andrew Zimmerman What do you mean by haters? I think everyone hates the fact that apple won't just compete through their products, but instead wants to force everyone to have to use their products. What else is there to hate? If they'd quit their nonsense, I'd be happy for them and their following. I just don't care to be forced in to being part of it.
Clearly they invented the wedge. Did they file a patent for the wheel yet?
Has Apple patented Aluminum or keyboards yet?
What's next for Apple? Can they get my ideas too before I have them? 😉 ridiculous patents #boycottapple
makes a good door stopper by the looks …bless 🙂
Apple king of trolls, the new way to make money.
I wonder how many millions did Apple slide under the table to make this patent approved…
It's good to see Apple finally reaping some of the desperately deserved criticism for its deplorably unethical business practices. For too long, the public has turned a blind eye to Apples sins simply because Apple has been fashionable.
+Patrick Alexander Apple ripped their GUI off from Xerox, didn't they?
It is interesting that fashion industry does not have any copyright protection. If you design a garment someone else can copy it and you cannot sue them since there is no copyright law to cover it. Begs the question then why is design in other areas copyrighted? Especially if it is function is ornamental?
It's stupid and irresponsible to patent something like that.
Let's all move on Apple is where innovation stoped. Everyone should just leave them there.
While I agree with your last sentence (it also applies to a lot more companies than just Apple), I think it is very reasonable for a company to be able to defend its product line using patents. There are a LOT of knockoffs coming from China, and there are many patent trolls that may try to create a patent like the one mentioned in this post. The patent trolls will try and extort money from companies. So from a defensive point of view this patent is very logical.
Now, if you want to talk about actual deplorable business practices, ask why Apple is trying to keep users from jail breaking phones. Also ask about why some companies are pushing for you not being able to resell digital goods or goods with firmware/software in the device. It is a real possibility that you will some day not be able to resell your phone because it has firmware/software/or a logo on the device. I don't know if Apple is involved. If this happens then I see a huge movement to open source software based devices that are unbranded. It would put companies like Apple out of business.
FIG 12 —————————–
@Vilas Rokade: Because it's made of metal and not cloth. That, and Apple as lots more money and lawyers than any single fashion designer does. What you can patent is really dependant on who you know and how much money you have, not what you're selling. You have to understand the point of a patent law anyway. A patent is actually personal law. Basically, it makes something illegal that would otherwise be legal and gives the responsibility of enforcement to the patent holder, thus making it 'personal law'. In our society, we already have enough law without granting personal law. Patents don't really need to exist at all. For those who argue that they do, then they should exist for a very short period of time (1-2 years at most from patent filing date). Software patents shouldn't exist at all. Copyright is all that's needed for software.
and the guitar effects pedal?
The patent office is an international laughing stock.
the iphone4 is crap i had mine not up to 2years yet and is not working, i took iit to the apple store i will have to £150 for repair
+Max Huijgen:
"Designpatents should really be outlawed."I fixed it for you.
Companies with lots of money in their pockets should really start patenting design features that have something with an iPhone or iPad in common. And by law of large numbers (and the known stupidity of the patent office) some of these patent claims would get approved. And from there on these companies would just have to sue Apple to get a slice of "the apple" … 😛
Would this fix the patent system?
https://plus.google.com/u/0/108730413722442439004/posts/i9pAujyjdYV
Then Apple will patent using the inhale-exhale technique to breathe.
WTF I going on? Are there no patent regulations anymore??
First world problem for sure.
So, let's see, Apple has now managed to patent the design of the Sony Vaio, the design of the Android Vega tablet (displayed in 2009),patented a swedish companies slide to unlock patent, a multitude of others work by just tacking on the words "mobile device" on the end of the original patent. Who else's work has Apple patented?
And please don't bother trolling me with the fact that Apple is doing it because the patent system is broken, that's the most pathetic excuse possible "they can't be held responsible for their own actions, the government has to step in and explicitly forbid it so until then there is nothing wrong." Abusing this shows a lack of morals and good business codes of conducts.
Apple does hav a patent to everything which is obsurd. Funny and irritating.. Sometimes they get idea from other companies then patent it for themselves. Then saying it's theirs.
This is ridiculous!
Since it seems that there are many people convinced that utility patents are a major contributor of technological progress and economic prosperity in our society, I'll post some of what a well-known economist, F.A. Hayek wrote about patents and their effect on a free-market economy:
Hayek, F.A., Individualism and Economic Order The University of Chicago Press. Chicago (IL), USA. 1948. Pages 113 to 115
The problem of the prevention of monopoly and the preservation of competition is raised much more acutely in certain other fields to which the concept of property has been extended only in recent times. I am thinking here of the extension of the concept of property to such rights and privileges as patents for inventions, copyright, trade-marks, and the like. It seems to me beyond doubt that in these fields a slavish application of the concept of property as it has been developed for material things has done a great deal to foster the growth of monopoly and that here drastic reforms may be required if competition is to be made to work. In the field of industrial patents in particular we shall have seriously to examine whether the award of a monopoly privilege is really· the most appropriate and effective form of reward for the kind of risk-bearing which investment in scientific research involves.
Patents, in particular, are specially interesting from our point of view because they provide so clear an illustration of how it is necessary in all such instances not to apply a ready-made formula but to go back to the rationale of the market system and to decide for each class what the precise rights are to be which the government ought to protect. This is a task at least as much for economists as for lawyers. Perhaps it is not a waste of your time if I illustrate what I have in mind by quoting a rather well-known decision in which an American judge argued that "as to the suggestion that competitors were excluded from the use of the patent we answer that such exclusion may be said to have been the very essence of the right conferred by the patent" and adds "as it is the privilege of any owner of property to use it or not to use it without any question of motive."[3] It is this last statement which seems to me to be significant for the way in which a mechanical extension of the property concept by lawyers has done so much to create undesirable and harmful privilege.
4
Another field in which a mechanical extension of the simplified conception of private property has produced undesirable results is in the field of trade-marks and proprietary names. I myself have no doubt that legislation has important tasks to perform in this field and that securing adequate and truthful information concerning the origin of any product is one, but only one, aspect of this. But the exclusive stress on the description of the producer and the neglect of similar provisions concerning the character and quality of the commodity has to some extent helped to create monopolistic conditions because trade-marks have come to be used as a description of the kind of commodity, which then of course only the owner of the trade-mark could produce ("Kodak," "Coca-Cola"). This difficulty might be solved, for example, if the use of trade-marks were protected only in connection with descriptive names which would be free for all to use.
3. Continental Bag Co. v. Eastern Bag Co., 210 U.S. 405 (1909).
Friedrich von Hayek – Individualism and Economic Order
Source: http://mises.org/resources/4015/Individualism-and-Economic-Order
PDF: http://mises.org/books/individualismandeconomicorder.pdf
_____________________________
The Intellectuals and Socialism.
Hayek, F.A., The Intellectuals: A Controversial Portrait The University of Chicago Press; George B. de Huszar ed. (Glencoe, Illinois: the Free Press, 1960) pp. 371-84.
The slow selection by trial and error of a system of rules delimiting individual ranges of control over different resources has created a curious position. Those very intellectuals who are generally inclined to question those forms of material property which are indispensable for the efficient organisation of the material means of production have become the most enthusiastic supporters of certain immaterial property rights invented only relatively recently, having to do, for example, with literary productions and technological inventions (i.e., copyrights and patents).
The difference between these and other kinds of property rights is this: while ownership of material goods guides the user of scarce means to their most important uses, in the case of immaterial goods such as literary productions and technological inventions the ability to produce them is also limited, yet once they have come into existence, they can be indefinitely multiplied and can be made scarce only by law in order to create an inducement to produce such ideas. Yet it is not obvious that such forced scarcity is the most effective way to stimulate the human creative process. I doubt whether there exists a single great work of literature which we would not possess had the author been unable to obtain an exclusive copyright for it; it seems to me that the case for copyright must rest almost entirely on the circumstance that such exceedingly useful works as encyclopaedias, dictionaries, textbooks and other works of reference could not be produced if, once they existed, they could freely be reproduced.
Similarly, recurrent re-examinations of the problem have not demonstrated that the obtainability of patents of invention actually enhances the flow of new technical knowledge rather than leading to wasteful concentration of research on problems whose solution in the near future can be foreseen and where, in consequence of the law, anyone who hits upon a solution a moment before the next gains the right to its exclusive use for a prolonged period.
– "Against Intellectual Property" [The Collected Works of F.A. Hayek, vol. 1, The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism, ed. W.W. Bartley (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989), p. 36-37]
URL source: http://blog.mises.org/9247/hayek-on-patents-and-copyrights/
_____________________________
U.S patent department is crazy that they have been awarding patents on this type of stuff.
That +Matthew Gray seems to be almost universal. I said last year that Apple would fall into its own sword. The combination of litigation, arrogance and high margins would not be sustainable. At that time I was laughed at, but consumer sentiments can change fast.
+Guido Gloor Modjib: "+Ashlee Saunders The first electronic touchscreen device to use swipe-to-unlock was the Neonode N1m, and it was introduced around half a year before Apple filed the patent."
– In the US the valid date to determine the original inventor is not the date in which the patent is filed in the patent office but the date of the same invention. For instance, this particularity allowed T.A. Edison to invalidate several patents of his competitors filing his own patents in their place since he could demonstrate using the files of the routine work of his lab that the dates of his inventions actually predated their competitors'.
Thus, if Apple could have proved that their swipe-to-lock mechanism had been already designed by the time that the manufacturers of Neonode developed their own mechanism, Apple would have been able to keep their patent.
I've been saying the same thing for years +Max Huijgen. I'm very happy to see that people are finally waking up.
Swipe to unlock patent post by me from yesterday +Zephyr López Cervilla *Apple Loses “Slide-to-Unlock” Patent in Britain: Now What?* contains some details about the dates.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/112352920206354603958/posts/GLpddUsHaY7
+Max Huijgen, my comment was exclusively related to the information provided by Guido Gloor Modjib and his subsequent statement. He believed that if a mechanism is introduced before a patent of the same mechanism is filed the patent is invalid, but this is not the case in the US. In that country the reference date is the date of the invention rather than the date in which the patent is filed. For instance, if Apple could have proved that they had designed the swipe-to-lock mechanism in 1989 (e.g., with documental evidence) their patent would have been valid, at least as for the date prevalence (and in the US).
I've decided to follow Apple's lead and I have patented both air, and the act of breathing it by carbon based life forms. You are all going to be sued. Prepare yourselves.
+Xatolos Wired, nobody can troll a troll.
Been trying to figure out how I feel about the way Apple is going about everything. I really can't put it into words. If I were an apple user I would be embarrassed. I do feel more justified in staying away from their products though.
Time to #boycottapple
+Max Huijgen go after Toyota and the other car giants before pizza. Rummer has it they might start using your new circle to great extent on cars and trucks
I'm gonna get me the patent for a self-propelled 4 wheeled transport vehicle.
Sad.
you can compare this design with the fridge and i am 100% sure they are identical.
Old news.
Wedge shape is dumb…still as thin as its widest part
Don't get a regular old utility patent confused with a design patent. A design patent grants the patentee with the right to a particular shape. Other similar shapes are not encompassed by the design patent. Of course, a lot of litigation occurs over how close one design is to another before it actually infringes.
Apple and Samsung just completed a lawsuit over this very issue, with lots of prior art, just like here. Here's a link: http://www.redmondpie.com/apple-vs.-samsung-lawsuit-finally-bears-fruit-galaxy-tab-10.1-banned-from-sale-in-u.s./
As a business strategy, this makes a lot of sense to protect Apple's brand, and litigation is designed to deal with the question of "how closely does X match Y" that these suits raise.
Don't everyone get too upset. This is what intellectual property protection is all about, and ultimately it's a good thing because it encourages companies to work harder to create unique and beautiful products for us to enjoy.
My doorstop is infringing on their patent.
I'll just wait for Microsoft Surface … problem solved 🙂
+Zephyr López Cervilla Don't worry, I don't plan on trolling you. I'll keep stating the facts and you can keep up your pathetic trolling.
The next big thing apple to patent now is "IGLASS". Slavishly copying google innovation with some tweaks.
A shape is not an invention
+David Beardall see https://plus.google.com/106154493978299996445/posts/YndYqiVV1tu 😉
chinkers. thats crazy
They patented the door stopper? I suppose that's the most useful apple devices can be really.
+David Beardall May I present you with the Android Vega tablet from 2009? Looks slavishly similar… http://mashable.com/2009/11/12/vega-android-tablet/
Really well-made post – thanks +Max Huijgen !
I feel bad for all the calculator manufacturers who will be going out of business due to this wedge patent.
Apple is sick !!!
F them GOOGLE WILL TAKE OVER ; )
Images can't be viewed without craPple QuickTime http://i.imgur.com/BrEGC.jpg
Apparently the next lawsuit is to do with I Claudius
+chris farrar You should write it correctly not to infringe on Apple´s rights: iClaudius.
Apple patented the patent office. The only way the patent office could afford the court awarded costs was to become Apple's bitches.
All bow down before the might Apple.
(after you have done with #boycottapple in.. say… 2150!)
+William Thomas isn't Quicktime spyware?
+Kris Hudson-Lee *Apple suffered setback: Samsung can sell the Nexus; today that is* See
https://plus.google.com/u/0/112352920206354603958/posts/Wo4SNDvA9wV
I have just patented the 'patent'. Early retirement beckons.
"We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas" – Steve Jobs, (Triumph of the Nerds, 1996)
Nothing wrong with this if you understand how/why software business was thriving on pre-2000 era when IP patents were rare and odd animal and when rarely taken to court it was on patents actually doing something truly innovative.
"They are shamelessly copying us"
– Steve Jobs (about Microsoft and the operating system which would be released as Vista as quoted in "Apple's Jobs swipes at Longhorn" on cNet News (21. April 2005))
Then 9 years later, as Apple has started to gain weight on certain market areas, Jobs has turned into a crybaby while doing better than they could ever have dreamed in 96 against Microsoft (though on new area but even on desktop they're not doing worse than then 😉 ).
After this whining statement the earlier one seems pompous and laughable having come out of same man.
Dats only valid in the USA.
Happy to live somewhere with a patent system that isn't owned by crApple.
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I used to have calculators that had that shape.
I´m pretty sure I still have +Emmett Lollis