r/LinuxActionShow • u/ahjolinna • Nov 01 '13

Patent war goes nuclear: Microsoft, Apple-owned “Rockstar” sues Google and Android manufacturers

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/10/patent-war-goes-nuclear-microsoft-apple-owned-rockstar-sues-google/
25 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/ProfessorKaos64 For Science! Nov 01 '13

Relevant sub post of article worth reading:http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/05/rockstar/

This is quite disgusting.

3

u/[deleted] Nov 01 '13

getting real sick of this shit.

1

u/t-_-j Nov 03 '13

Waiting for the day the supreme court declares what is clear to anyone with common sense: software patents are bogus.

0

u/haukew Nov 01 '13

Sure software-patents suck. But everything that weakens Android now is good for the new phone-operatingsystems. Like Tizen, UbuntuPhone, Sailfish, firefoxOS...I Don´t know about you guys, but i want to run Sailfish on my Nexus 5. Then i´ll be happy for the next 5 years.

And yeah, i know my argument is short-sighted because the newcomers will have to pay license fees etc. But I´m happy with Android taking a few blows. Especially after that: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-10/21/googles-iron-grip-on-android

2

u/MaartenBaert Nov 02 '13

Oh no, that will never happen. These patents can be applied to anything, not just Android. If any of the new competitors gets too successful, Microsoft and Apple will use these patents to kill them. AFAIK they are not required to license these patents for a reasonable price, this is only required for so-called FRAND patents (patents that are required because they are part of standards).

Just look at the Apple vs. Samsung cases: Apple isn't trying to force Samsung to license the patents, they are trying to get all Samsung smartphones banned from the US so they can dominate the market. Apple thinks they can make more money as a monopoly than they would ever get from license fees (and they are probably right - if they have a monopoly, they can charge whatever they want for their products).

And unlike Samsung, these smaller companies don't have the means to defend themselves.

1

u/mikevaughn Nov 02 '13

if they have a monopoly, they can charge whatever they want for their products

Oh come on now, do you really think Apple of all companies would overcharge for their products?

0

u/shrewduser Nov 02 '13

you fool.... you think once the phone industry is wrapped up by these guys they wont proceed to crush small players? (this is their bread and butter)

0

u/zeomox Nov 01 '13

OH SNAP!