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Here's a great 'concise' article about the patenting system globally and how the mobile phone companies are using/misusing it:
Apple, Samsung, Google and the smartphone patent wars - everything you need to know | Technology | guardian.co.uk
Be warned, its not short or simple even though its a simplification of whats going on.
Exposes some of the simplistic ideas some people here seem to hold for what they are.
I'm sorry but that misses the point. We need to ask firstly whether these patents should be granted in the first place (the article seems to happily tell you that you shouldn't bother with whether they should have been granted in the first place). Just because the system is in place doesn't mean it is just or correct. That would be like excusing the Holocaust because Hitler exploited a law which meant it was legal to gas Jews at exactly midnight when there's a full moon. I know that's a ridiculous example, but we really do need to ask whether you should be able to get patents for the general look of a device or something as basic as slide to unlock. I mean come on. It's a button that slides!!!!!!! If Apple invents 5g and it's 10x faster than 4g then they should be allowed to protect it of course. But most of the Apple stuff that I've seen patents for is either vapourware, ie they never actually bring it to fruition, or is stuff that really isn't patent worthy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Malbec
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
like basic/generic shapes such as a rectangle with rounded corners and a display in the middle.
This isn't a patent issue so I'm struggling to see what point you're trying to make.Quote:
Originally Posted by BleAivano
Why shouldn't patents be granted?Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
Why should a company or an individual not have a development they've invested considerable money and effort in not be rewarded by having it protected from copying?
What incentive would there be for any company to develop anything whatsoever if they knew any competitor could simply copy and sell it without having to pay the development costs?
I really don't understand your position here. Patenting pretty much underpins capitalism. It really is that important.
Take a look at the Indian pharmaceutical industry. India specifically refuses to recognise international drug patents. They have one of the biggest pharmaceutical industries in the world. In 60 years they have not developed a single drug. Not one. Why should they bother if they know their competitors are legally allowed to copy them the day their product is brought to market.
Now look at the Western pharmaceutical industry which is tightly regulated by patents. Every single new drug in the modern era has been developed by it because companies are secure in the knowledge that their investment will be recouped for a period of exclusivity while their drug patent applies.
Isn't it curious that you focus on Apple when the article mentions several different cases involving all the major makers? Did you actually read the article in full (I accept its long and dry)? I suspect not.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
Even I didn't have time to read all of that. Are you seriously comparing the development of life saving drugs to slide to unlock? :dozey: You simply shouldn't be able to patent the most basic of things like a button sliding for a certain purpose or the general shape of an object, especially when that shape is rectangular with rounded corners. This article -> Apple v. Samsung: The Rights To Rectangles - Forbes describes it well in that some things such as the rectangular shape of a phone are so intrinsic to innovation as to make them un-patentable. It's not like Apple even invented something that didn't exist. As I've pointed out MANY times and you seem to ignore each time, the LG Prada pre-dates the iPhone by months and has the same rectangular design with rounded corners on a touchscreen smartphone......... Would a drug company ever be able to get a patent on a drug that another company developed and had on the market for months or years? Should they be able to get that patent?Quote:
Originally Posted by Malbec
Errrrr, you do realise that Apple have actually patented the shape of the iPad and iPhone right? So this is a patent issue.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Malbec
Again.... I post this Has Apple Really Ever Invented Anything? - YouTube
Then there's this, which is contained in the above video, buy you seem intent on ignoring it. Magsafe, which to be fair is a FANTASTIC idea, but which is stolen from Japanese rice cookers which had a magnetic latch on the power adaptor because if someone pulls on the cable you don't want a cooker full of rice going everywhere. Yet somehow Apple get a patent on this -> Steve Jobs and the power of association | The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs I mean really....
Read the article. It might help.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
The shape and look of Apple products is not a technology. It isn't a patenting issue.
Its a trademarking issue.