Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Apple Granted Injunction to pull Samsung 10.1 Tablets from EU Shelves

simmer2 · 08-10-2011, 03:10 PM

I completely agree that the overall patent system is fundamentally flawed. What I do have issues with however is when a company, like Apple, is visibly trying to hoard control of the entire industry of communication and information flow via royalties, etc. This is why they distribute solely in the States through AT&T, one of the oldest government regulated monopolies in the US.

There are some posters who are correct in saying that it's a problem with the industry...it's largely not just Apple suing these companies. But this is the first time I have ever heard of a product getting removed from the shelf. I don't care if behind the scenes companies sue back and forth, but one company should not be able to block another company's product from reaching the consumer.

I could give a crap about buttons, circles, icons, etc. Apple was smart enough to file for patents, but they also house a massive legal team whose directive is to patent everything under the sun. Ultimately I want access to the Google Android system and could give a crap about the hardware look of the iPad...it's ridiculous that the look stopped these from being sold.

So while I do concede Apple is not the only one suing, as far as I know this is the first case where they've managed to force a product to be removed from a shelf. And to me that's the complete opposite of capitalism and free market. We make the decision which product succeeds and which one fails, not the corporations.

08-10-2011, 03:10 PM	#51
simmer2 Franchise Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Calgary, Alberta Exp:	I completely agree that the overall patent system is fundamentally flawed. What I do have issues with however is when a company, like Apple, is visibly trying to hoard control of the entire industry of communication and information flow via royalties, etc. This is why they distribute solely in the States through AT&T, one of the oldest government regulated monopolies in the US. There are some posters who are correct in saying that it's a problem with the industry...it's largely not just Apple suing these companies. But this is the first time I have ever heard of a product getting removed from the shelf. I don't care if behind the scenes companies sue back and forth, but one company should not be able to block another company's product from reaching the consumer. I could give a crap about buttons, circles, icons, etc. Apple was smart enough to file for patents, but they also house a massive legal team whose directive is to patent everything under the sun. Ultimately I want access to the Google Android system and could give a crap about the hardware look of the iPad...it's ridiculous that the look stopped these from being sold. So while I do concede Apple is not the only one suing, as far as I know this is the first case where they've managed to force a product to be removed from a shelf. And to me that's the complete opposite of capitalism and free market. We make the decision which product succeeds and which one fails, not the corporations.