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kc311v2 · Jan 15, 2007, 06:02 PM

Watch it, Apple is getting trigger-happy!

San Francisco - Lawyers for Apple Inc. have sued a hacker who copied the screen icons from the company's new iPhone and created a programme that installs them on other phones, according to news reports Monday
According to technology news site ZDNet, the programme, quickly dubbed iPhony, was created by Paul O'Brien, founder of MoDaCo, who posted an iPhone skin for Windows Mobile-based phones and promptly received a cease and desist letter from Apple. Apple also sued bloggers who posted to the site, the report said.
The legal action is the second lawsuit to surface since Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the phone last Tuesday. Networking giant Cisco sued Apple claiming that it owned the rights to the iPhone name.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/b...&quotiPhony%22

This is getting ridiculous.

Eug · Jan 15, 2007, 06:10 PM

The ironic part is Apple are themselves getting sued over the iPhone trademark.

Personally I hope that Apple loses the rights to use that name. Just because.

TETENAL · Jan 15, 2007, 06:12 PM

This is not about the "iPhone" trademark, this is about the copyright on the iPhone icon artwork. They don't want to see that on other devices and they have the right to defend that.

Eug · Jan 15, 2007, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

This is not about the "iPhone" trademark, this is about the copyright on the iPhone icon artwork. They don't want to see that on other devices and they have the right to defend that.

I know.

However, it's still ironic that they are being sued for (potentially) stealing something from Cisco for the iPhone.

Rumor · Jan 15, 2007, 06:21 PM

I want to sue someone...

Dark Helmet · Jan 15, 2007, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by kc311v2

This is getting ridiculous.

How so? They copied the icons and artwork and that is what Apple is upset about.

centerchannel68 · Jan 15, 2007, 06:42 PM

I can understand suing the guy responsible, but suing the bloggers that linked to the site? WTF apple? How is that even legal? Isn't it my right to say "Hey, check this **** out", even if it's illegal?

Dark Helmet · Jan 15, 2007, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by centerchannel68

I can understand suing the guy responsible, but suing the bloggers that linked to the site? WTF apple? How is that even legal? Isn't it my right to say "Hey, check this **** out", even if it's illegal?

Keep in mind these are just some lawyers that work for Apple acting stupid. Nobody rushed into Steve's office first thing in the morning to break the news to him and wondering what to do about it.

TailsToo · Jan 15, 2007, 06:52 PM

Apple needs to trim their legal staff by about half - maybe then they could charge less for the iPhone.

Chuckit · Jan 15, 2007, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

I know.

However, it's still ironic that they are being sued for (potentially) stealing something from Cisco for the iPhone.

Cisco's claim to the trademark is dubious at best. At the time Cisco filed for the trademark, it had no actual product it was using the term for. Thus, no valid trademark. If there were already a real, established product with the name, Apple probably wouldn't have gone ahead. This is way different from Apple's copyrighted artwork.

turtle777 · Jan 15, 2007, 07:54 PM

Pfff, recently, a German blogger was sued by a Chinese car manufacturer for some comments on how China copied a German bus (greyhound typ). Now that blogger has to appear in a Chinese court about that. Talk about farking crazy

Only in Am..., uhm, no, wait...

-t

Chuckit · Jan 15, 2007, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Pfff, recently, a German blogger was sued by a Chinese car manufacturer for some comments on how China copied a German bus (greyhound typ). Now that blogger has to appear in a Chinese court about that. Talk about farking crazy

Germany is extraditing him?

turtle777 · Jan 15, 2007, 09:06 PM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Germany is extraditing him?

Well, no, but there are some international agreements that apparently will make him responsible for the court cost and any ruling if he just choses to disregard that case.

And the other problem: his business is doing business in China, so he can't afford to just let it go. Farked.

-t

Eriamjh · Jan 15, 2007, 09:57 PM

Meh. Apple did the same when OSX was new and OSX skins came out the next day.

kc311v2 · Jan 15, 2007, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

How so? They copied the icons and artwork and that is what Apple is upset about.

I meant in regards to the number of lawsuits relating to the iPhone hype.

Gamoe · Jan 16, 2007, 01:10 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Well, no, but there are some international agreements that apparently will make him responsible for the court cost and any ruling if he just choses to disregard that case.

Honorable agreements with a communist government with a miles-long rap sheet against human rights and IP infringement. Gotta love it!

And yeah, I agree-- Apple's got to cool it with the lawyers. I wonder what young Apple would say about today's Apple. Sheesh. At least Wozniak still has some sense, even though he's wacky.

Gossamer · Jan 16, 2007, 01:21 AM

Originally Posted by centerchannel68

I can understand suing the guy responsible, but suing the bloggers that linked to the site? WTF apple? How is that even legal? Isn't it my right to say "Hey, check this **** out", even if it's illegal?

Well I know this board won't let us link to sites to run OS X on a PC or torrent links, but idk if they are somehow liable for what gets posted on these boards.

Eriamjh · Jan 16, 2007, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Pfff, recently, a German blogger was sued by a Chinese car manufacturer for some comments on how China copied a German bus (greyhound typ). Now that blogger has to appear in a Chinese court about that. Talk about farking crazy

-t

Must be this one: German Blogger Sued in China at The Blog Herald

This one says that they are suing the blog host: Chinese professor sues blog host at The Blog Herald

Kevin · Jan 16, 2007, 08:22 AM

Originally Posted by Eriamjh

Meh. Apple did the same when OSX was new and OSX skins came out the next day.

It not only went after those modifying Aqua, it went after those that made applications that modified the extras.rsrc. I was theming at the time because I wanted OS X to have an OS 9 look, hence the reason I named it "Sosumi" It was actually the first theme to completely redo all the resources.

But by then Apple legal had stopped the harassing.

shifuimam · 10:45 PM

...

Chuckit · Jan 16, 2007, 12:23 PM

"Legalese bullying"? Apple paid an artist good money to create this stuff to make their iPod look better than the competition. Do you completely not believe in copyright at all?

There's a big difference between keeping your competitors from stealing your art for their own (as Apple is doing) and suing grandmothers for trumped up crimes (as the RIAA does).

Visnaut · Jan 16, 2007, 01:31 PM

Apple better roll over and let random punks copy their interfaces or else the blogging community will get angry. Woe is me!

Hi I'm Ben · Jan 16, 2007, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

I know.

However, it's still ironic that they are being sued for (potentially) stealing something from Cisco for the iPhone.

Yes behold, Cisco's real serious about the iPhone name.

Just looks like a snarky way to keep a Trademark name when you know someone else wants to use it.

turtle777 · Jan 16, 2007, 02:00 PM

Cisco messed that up royally. Morons.

-t

vmarks · Jan 16, 2007, 02:17 PM

I found the download link and will be trying it on a Treo shortly. Of course, I should say that it is absolutely a copyright violation of Apple's IP to make it, and would much prefer the real thing.

Eriamjh · Jan 16, 2007, 08:36 PM

I wonder if or what Apple legal would do if they got a response that basically said "Go eff yourself"?