Techrights suggests Apple boycott because of lawsuit strategy

[KnightWRX]

Following Apple's recent stint of litigious behavior and of asking to stop competition rather than... well... compete, techrights is suggesting a boycott of Apple :

http://techrights.org/2011/12/26/boycott-apple-debated/

Summary: A roundup of more news about Apple and why it might be reasonable to pressure the company to drop its lawsuits strategy, e.g. by means of boycott

Of course, these "call to boycotts" never work, but it's true Apple has been using the courtrooms these days to compete. Their fear of Samsung, which has made quite the position for themselves in the smartphone arena, is quite obvious.

EDIT : more meat from posters on the slashdot comments :

Apple is using its patents to somehow disrupt and delay the W3C on the production of the HTML5 specification :

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/12/is-apple-is-using-patents-to-hurt-open-standards.ars

[...]This time, Cupertino is claiming to have three patents, and an application for a fourth, that cover some of W3C's touch event specification. This time the disclosure was made with about a month left to go. Again, the lack of royalty-free licensing means that a PAG is likely to be formed.

This in turn will delay the development of the specification and cost W3C members further time and money. The PAG process is not quick; the widget security PAG did not deliver its verdict until October of this year.

Haavard's conclusion is that there is a pattern of behavior here; that Apple is trying to disrupt the standards process with its patent claims. He references the touch specification in particular—this is plainly an area where Apple has lots of expertise and interest in the technology, but the company opted out of working on the specification.

(I guess people will now hate ars here... *sigh*, they are such Apple fanboys too).

 

[roadbloc]

These big and amazing boycotts never work out. If anything, they do the opposite. However I do think Apple has to loose the chip off its shoulder and realise that their products are already becoming increasingly dated in comparison to Microsoft's and Samsung's. They can bundle an amazingly polished voice recognition feature in a new phone, which is great for when you're driving, but there are so many features in both iOS and OS X which still need to be 'fleshed out' to make them as amazing as they are on alternative OSs.

Take iMessage and Game Centre for example. Where on earth are the OS X versions, with iCloud integration for passing over save game files between devices? I think we can all agree that Photo Stream needs some vast improvement. Apple start great features and then go off course and concentrate on developing features that look impressive, but aren't that useful in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Shrink]

I think a boycott (whether it's a good idea or not) would be very effective right up to the time that the iPad3, or new MacPro, or refreshed MacBook Pro, or new iPhone 5 (or whatever) came out.

The general consumer is, it would be my guess, unaware of all the litigious stuff going on. And if they know, they don't give a damn.

The ones who follow this stuff closely (techies and folks on MR and other tech sites) either are fans of other brand devices and wouldn't buy Apple anyway, and the Apple aficionados (myself included) would have difficulty maintaining a boycott in the face of the temptation to buy the newest Apple product available.

And, at the end of the day, I don't really thing Apple cares about consumer opinion regarding legal matters. That would have to be one hellacious boycott to get their attention.

 

[chrono1081]

Although some of Apples lawsuits are frivolous, not all are and Samsung deserved to get the **** sued out of them IMO. It's pretty bad when asked in a court room to identify the difference between an Apple iPad and a Samsung tablet, Samsungs lawyers couldn't tell the difference.

Apple is constantly copied off of so I understand they ferociously protect their IP.

I also don't agree with the statement "Apple sues their competition instead of innovates". Statements like that make me question the credibility of the article since Apple is usually always first out of the gate with something awesome.

 

[*LTD*]

Ask consumers to boycott the company that is giving them iPads, iPods, iPhones, Macs, and soon possibly a complete redefinition of the TV?

Lmao

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/people-who-didnt-get-what-they-wanted-for-christm

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Not that I necessarily support Apple going patent lawsuit crazy, but I also don't see how you can blame the MOST sued tech company for filing a few lawsuits of their own...

 

[KnightWRX]

Although some of Apples lawsuits are frivolous, not all are and Samsung deserved to get the **** sued out of them IMO. It's pretty bad when asked in a court room to identify the difference between an Apple iPad and a Samsung tablet, Samsungs lawyers couldn't tell the difference.

You do realise that story was embellished right ? Read the actual report on it and it becomes apparent why it happened.

Anyway, Samsung hasn't deserved anything, nor has HTC or Motorola or anyone else. None of these cases have gone to trial yet and no one has been found guilty in a court of law of infringement on this stuff. Most actions we see now are pre-trial motions.

I find that Apple going for bans, injunctions and other delay tactics to be wrong in this frameset. Sure it's their legal right, but morally it stinks of anti-competitive nature more than "protecting their rights". Let these cases go to trial and if your claims hold up, go for damages. That's the proper way to handle this stuff.

Same goes for the other sides though, Apple is getting counter-sued and if you believe in Apple's right to defend their IP, you believe in their competitor's right also.

 

[MorphingDragon]

You do realise that story was embellished right ? Read the actual report on it and it becomes apparent why it happened.

Anyway, Samsung hasn't deserved anything, nor has HTC or Motorola or anyone else. None of these cases have gone to trial yet and no one has been found guilty in a court of law of infringement on this stuff. Most actions we see now are pre-trial motions.

I find that Apple going for bans, injunctions and other delay tactics to be wrong in this frameset. Sure it's their legal right, but morally it stinks of anti-competitive nature more than "protecting their rights". Let these cases go to trial and if your claims hold up, go for damages. That's the proper way to handle this stuff.

Same goes for the other sides though, Apple is getting counter-sued and if you believe in Apple's right to defend their IP, you believe in their competitor's right also.

Or we all move to a country that abolishes Software Patents.

 

[boss.king]

Ask consumers to boycott the company that is giving them iPads, iPods, iPhones, Macs, and soon possibly a complete redefinition of the TV?

Lmao

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/people-who-didnt-get-what-they-wanted-for-christm

Who did they give those things to? Last I checked they were selling them for quite a large profit.

 

[*LTD*]

Who did they give those things to? Last I checked they were selling them for quite a large profit.

And consumers keep wanting more.

Complex patent lawsuits between Apple and other corporations rarely matter - they usually go unrecognized, and when reported, rarely influence buying decisions. if Apple's lawsuits did influence consumers to any appreciable degree, they wouldn't be posting their biggest numbers that just happen to coincide with what appears to be a historic upswing in their legal activities.

iPad and iPhone availability, however, most certainly does matter. Unless puppies are harmed or Apple somehow magically steals consumers' cash right out of there wallets, Apple will be the very last tech company the mass market will boycott.

EDIT : more meat from posters on the slashdot comments :

Apple is using its patents to somehow disrupt and delay the W3C on the production of the HTML5 specification :

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/12/is-apple-is-using-patents-to-hurt-open-standards.ars



(I guess people will now hate ars here... *sigh*, they are such Apple fanboys too).

Apple are acting within their rights. They are disclosing patent claims, as required.

Perhaps you should respond to this instead:

---------------------------------------------------------

Wow! How crazy is that !

W3C "developers" just found some ready-made specifications with most interfaces already defined developed BY Apple lying around, copied those without checking with Apple whether those are encumbered by any patents, added some arguably minor tweaks and tried to release it as an "open standard". And now when Apple told them that there might be patents protecting those, W3C people actually dare to say Apple is stalling *THEIR* development ?

It takes quite a lot of time to develop these specifications, and Apple paid for that development from their own pocket, while W3C people basically copied it without asking permission.

You want NOT to be encumbered by patents? How about developing a specification by yourself instead of copying one from a commercial source?

You can see the Apple's specifications here:
http://developer.apple.com/library/...WebContent/HandlingEvents/HandlingEvents.html

And you can also see here (check out the first couple of commits) confirmation that Apple's specs were taken as a base since the start of the touch-events development:
http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/webevents/graph/145?revcount=150

-----------------------------------------------------

Seems Apple is just responding to more folks ****ing around with their patents. Which, sadly, is spreading as the rest of the industry grows more reliant on the fruits of Apple's work, even to the point of the lazier elements of it demanding Apple "open up."

 

[AppleScruff1]

And consumers keep wanting more.

Complex patent lawsuits between Apple and other corporations rarely matter - they usually go unrecognized, and when reported, rarely influence buying decisions. if Apple's lawsuits did influence consumers to any appreciable degree, they wouldn't be posting their biggest numbers that just happen to coincide with what appears to be a historic upswing in their legal activities.

iPad and iPhone availability, however, most certainly does matter. Unless puppies are harmed or Apple somehow magically steals consumers' cash right out of there wallets, Apple will be the very last tech company the mass market will boycott.




Apple are acting within their rights. They are disclosing patent claims, as required.

Perhaps you should respond to this instead:

---------------------------------------------------------

Wow! How crazy is that !

W3C "developers" just found some ready-made specifications with most interfaces already defined developed BY Apple lying around, copied those without checking with Apple whether those are encumbered by any patents, added some arguably minor tweaks and tried to release it as an "open standard". And now when Apple told them that there might be patents protecting those, W3C people actually dare to say Apple is stalling *THEIR* development ?

It takes quite a lot of time to develop these specifications, and Apple paid for that development from their own pocket, while W3C people basically copied it without asking permission.

You want NOT to be encumbered by patents? How about developing a specification by yourself instead of copying one from a commercial source?

You can see the Apple's specifications here:
http://developer.apple.com/library/...WebContent/HandlingEvents/HandlingEvents.html

And you can also see here (check out the first couple of commits) confirmation that Apple's specs were taken as a base since the start of the touch-events development:
http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/webevents/graph/145?revcount=150

-----------------------------------------------------

Seems Apple is just responding to more folks ****ing around with their patents. Which, sadly, is spreading as the rest of the industry grows more reliant on the fruits of Apple's work, even to the point of the lazier elements of it demanding Apple "open up."

What do you think of Apple's deal with the patent troll? Do you approve?

 

[juliusaugustus]

Ask consumers to boycott the company that is giving them iPads, iPods, iPhones, Macs, and soon possibly a complete redefinition of the TV?

Lmao

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/people-who-didnt-get-what-they-wanted-for-christm

Damn those people are really spoiled. Be happy you got something for Christmas.

 

[kdarling]

Apple are acting within their rights. They are disclosing patent claims, as required.

According to some, Apple does this quite often, usually with bogus patents at the last second to delay the specifications:

... according to Opera browser developer Haavard, Apple is delaying the process by using “invalid or irrelevant patents” to buy time, something the company has apparently done in the past. - 9to5mac

Apple seems happy to support HTML, as long as their own browser has its own special events that no one else can use. Shades of IE. So much for HTML being a standard for everyone, and a universal replacement for Flash.

 

[smoledman]

Apple is within their rights to stop the wholesale IP theft against them by an entire cellular industry.