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Why is Apple letting competitors copy the iPhone UI?
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Jan 9, 2008, 01:52 AM
 
I expect this sort of thing from cheap Chinese knock offs but iRiver has made a near exact copy of the iPhone UI for their own phone.

iriver 3-inch touchscreen "GSM phone" headed for the States - Engadget

I see this sort of thing all the time with Apple. Why does Apple bother patenting anything if they let everyone get away with it?
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 02:08 AM
 


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Jan 9, 2008, 02:09 AM
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but iRiver hasn't released a phone with that UI yet? I'm sure Apple will release their legal hounds once a release date is set.

Slick shoes?!! Are you crazy?!!
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 02:44 AM
 
yeah, i thought iphone pattented everything...
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 07:59 AM
 
Mac update estimates: MacBook Pro 1Q10 (quad core Nehalem [Clarksfield]); MacBook 1Q10 (Arrandale); MacBook Air 1Q10 (Arrandale LV); Mac Pro/Xserve 1Q10 (6 core Westmere, 64+GB RAM); iMac 3Q10 (quad core everywhere); Mac mini 2010
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 09:10 AM
 
I'm sure apple will be all over them once its released.
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 11:52 AM
 
Even if it slipped by, I'm not worried. It's like Hunt's Ketchup - same color, but not quite right.
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 12:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by mduell View Post
MSFT was forced to by 150 million in stock, agree to continue development of MS Office and other products for 5 years and provide Apple with licenses to all of their patents. Yeah Apple lost alright. Those are the terms that we are aware of but it also appears that Apple has MSFT by the proverbial nuts because MSFT has been reluctant to enter into certain markets where Apple is dominating right now. It's almost as if they had their hands tied legally some how.
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Jan 9, 2008, 12:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by mduell View Post
Then why bother patenting anything?
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 12:53 PM
 
Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES View Post
Then why bother patenting anything?
That's the big debate right now.

I have read that many German companies stopped registering their patents because it basically makes knocking off the technology even easier for the Chinese.

They found it's safer to keep it a secret, rather than patenting it.

-t
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 01:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
That's the big debate right now.

I have read that many German companies stopped registering their patents because it basically makes knocking off the technology even easier for the Chinese.

They found it's safer to keep it a secret, rather than patenting it.

-t
Must be hard keeping a secret when the product is on the market.
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 01:18 PM
 
Originally Posted by aristotles View Post
MSFT was forced to by 150 million in stock...
That's more of a reward, rather than a punishment. I wish I had been forced to buy Apple stock in 1997.
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 01:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES View Post
Then why bother patenting anything?
If I remember correctly, Steve highlighted that they patented multitouch in the iPhone announcement. How could they patent PalmOS-like GUI graphics?
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 01:21 PM
 
Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES View Post
Must be hard keeping a secret when the product is on the market.
That depends. Often, the technology used is too complex to be readily visible and to be easily reverse-engineered (especially when a hard- and software combination is involved).
I'm not talking about simple design patents.

The disadvantage of the patent is that it describes in detail *how* this thing is supposed to work. So it's like handing over a blue-print.

-t
     
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Jan 9, 2008, 01:32 PM
 
Originally Posted by The Godfather View Post
If I remember correctly, Steve highlighted that they patented multitouch in the iPhone announcement. How could they patent PalmOS-like GUI graphics?
My guess is because the Palm copied the Newton?
     
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Jan 10, 2008, 03:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by mduell View Post
Not really, MS paid an additional billion dollars to Apple off the table for the settlement of patents in 1997.

Furthermore, Apple learned a valuable lesson from this and has been extremely careful to patent and protect its intellectual properties and technological ideas.

The iPhone is carefully copyrighted and any company that even tries to market a clone will be hit hard by Apple.

V
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Jan 10, 2008, 10:52 AM
 
Originally Posted by voodoo View Post
The iPhone is carefully copyrighted and any company that even tries to market a clone will be hit hard by Apple.

V
Well lets see about that as that windows 7 link above copies just about everything from the iPhone.
     
   
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