You didn't know there was any war going on? Well, actually there are several, and they are getting increasingly messy, but today I will be covering only at the mobile IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) wars. First though, let me be clear - although I am an inventor/co-invented of 5 granted patents, I am not a patent expert, not by a long way, but I am very interested in the area. Don't sue me over this blog, ok?
We are talking disputes about copying without authorisation (i.e. without paying for the privilege). With IPR disputes its very tit-for-tat; anyone sued tries to sue back in a "my gun is bigger than yours" play...although sometimes the gun is a bit of a fake. The wars are going on with the following non-geograhical fronts:-
- Patents (function)
- Copyright
- Design Patents (the form of the product)
The first biggie is (or was) between Oracle and Google and covered patents and copyright. Google's Android operating system supports applications via the dalvik virtual machine. The applications are written in Java and compiled to dalvik code in much the same way as Java code is compiled to then run on a Java virtual machine; Java-based technology is critical to Android (that's millions of handsets therefore millions of dollars, folks). Google even copied some of the code and used the same developer familiar Java APIs. Google and Sun Microsystems discussed licensing but nothing was ever penned. When Oracle bought and rescued Sun Microsystems they obtained the Java assets and started looking to Google for some pay-back claiming also that Android fragmented and thereby damaged Java. This action recently went to trial in the USA and Google despite clearly doing wrong, got out of jail free by the skin of their teeth. For now anyway, as Oracle are almost certain to appeal the judgement and keep this rolling on for many more months (to the joy of the lawyers involved no doubt). Can't wait to see the Hollywood movie about this one.
The next biggie is Apple against Samsung. Although Apple is pretty much suing everyone else, or anyone else big in Android (Samsung, HTC and Motorola) over patents they also have action against Samsung over design patents, successfully claiming the Galaxy Tab is a blatant copy of the iPad (even a scene in 2001 A Space Odyssey where an iPad-like tablet computer was used was not considered significant prior art to let Samsung off the hook) . This is an interesting fight as Samsung is also a critical supplier of components to Apple, i.e. despite their differences they still need each other badly. Essentially Apple is portraying Samsung as a copier and attempting to protect the Apple brand and market-leading user experience - both of which lead to higher margins for Apple (ah, dollars again!). All the posturing will probably lead to a "win" of some sort for Apple, but we shall have to wait and see.
There are also some significant skirmishes between Microsoft and Motorola, Nokia and HTC, RIM, Viewsonic. Smaller players are mostly staying out of court, for now, but will certainly come in the sights after the current cases finish and provide precedent.
The next biggie is Apple against Samsung. Although Apple is pretty much suing everyone else, or anyone else big in Android (Samsung, HTC and Motorola) over patents they also have action against Samsung over design patents, successfully claiming the Galaxy Tab is a blatant copy of the iPad (even a scene in 2001 A Space Odyssey where an iPad-like tablet computer was used was not considered significant prior art to let Samsung off the hook) . This is an interesting fight as Samsung is also a critical supplier of components to Apple, i.e. despite their differences they still need each other badly. Essentially Apple is portraying Samsung as a copier and attempting to protect the Apple brand and market-leading user experience - both of which lead to higher margins for Apple (ah, dollars again!). All the posturing will probably lead to a "win" of some sort for Apple, but we shall have to wait and see.
There are also some significant skirmishes between Microsoft and Motorola, Nokia and HTC, RIM, Viewsonic. Smaller players are mostly staying out of court, for now, but will certainly come in the sights after the current cases finish and provide precedent.
I will come back to this subject in the near future to talk about the types of patent being used in the wars and the strategies of the players involved, but in the meantime, If you are interested in learning more, check out the following:-
...and finally... this.
Martin is available for
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check contact details in Martin's profile.
Martin Yagi.
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