Quote:
Originally Posted by Rathji
I am sure you have seen the graph posted somewhere here that shows the huge web of lawsuits of companies protecting their IP. Until the laws get changed, the only thing that it makes sense to be upset about is the laws, not the way any one company follows them.
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You can find the graph here:
http://visual.ly/tech-patent-wars
Sorry, can't embed. For the mobile space however this boils down to a very limited set of companies. While Apple might not be involved in all the lawsuits they certainly are involved in the most. All ones they are involved in they instigated. Here's a breakdown for people to read.
One thing that is clear is the lawsuits and litigation madness needs to stop. While Apple isn't solely responsible for the the lawsuit mess, they are the most litigious by far and most willing to exploit a broken system. They should share a larger portion of the blame for this whole mess accordingly, if you were to be annoyed with the system at all.
Nokia vs. Apple
Everyone in the mobile telecom space pays two companies (moto/nokia) for wireless technology related to the invention of the cell phone. Apple refused to pay fees that no one else in the industry refused to pay. Got sued, counter sued and settled when litigation was no longer favorable.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1650712.html
Apple vs HTC
Apple sues HTC for UI related issues and hardware look and feel. HTC countersues with some Google borrowed patents. Ongoing
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/a...phone-patents/
Apple vs Motorola
Apple sues for Qualcomm related mobile patents. Motorola gets taken over by Google and countersues. Ongoing
http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/10/a...-dream-of-a-w/
Apple vs Kodak
Kodak facing financial trouble wants to sell some of it's patents off to Flashpoint technology. Apple sues to prevent said transfer of patents. Kodak countersues. Ongoing
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/19/k...-patent-sales/
Apple vs Samsung
Apple sues Samsung, Samsung countersues. Discussed to infinity in this thread. Ongoing pending appeals.