On Apple suing HTC
Apple, like many corporations in the US, files for patents, including many software patents. I’ve never faulted them for filing the patents. In the US. when one big corporation sues another big corporation claiming they are infringing on one of their patents, it’s typical to fire back with similar claims and eventually work out a settlement.
I think most corporations view patents as missiles. They line them up, outside the perimeter of the company for all to see and through a blow horn they yell, “Do not fuck with us or we will use these to level your house.”
Despite what the typical layman thinks, this is the real world of the US patent system. (Sad I know.)
So Apple lives in this world. They have their stockpile of missiles but have never been aggressive with them. They have only used them as a response to an attack, until yesterday.
Yesterday, Apple filed suit against HTC for a collection of patents, most related to the iPhone and touch gestures.
In my opinion, this is pretty craptastic. In an open letter Wil Shipley shares similar thoughts:
Enforcing patents is wrong. You’ve famously taken and built on ideas from your competitors, as have I, as we should, as great artists do. Why is what HTC has done worse? Whether an idea was patented doesn’t change the morality of copying it, it only changes the ability to sue.
But when you sue someone for doing something you do yourself, you become one of the bad guys.
I remember back when Steve introduced the iPhone during Macworld 2007. Even on day one he talked about patents and lawsuits:
“We’ve been innovating like crazy for the last few years on this [iPhone] and we have filed for over 200 patents for all the inventions in iPhone [pause] and we intent to protect them. (Keynote speech, 1:30)
Cue audience applause and a huge sick feeling in my stomach (even back then).
A NY Times article posted today addresses the question as to “why did Apple sue HTC and not Google?” They write:
Jonathan Zittrain (professor at Harvard Law School) believes Apple is simply going after a less powerful company first, one with much smaller pockets than Google.
“It clearly involves some form of litigation strategy of picking off the weaker members of the herd first,” Mr Zittrain said. “They can always add Google to the suit later on.”
To say I’m disappointed and troubled by Apple’s actions is an understatement. At heart I think there are two ways to deal with competition.
One, you embrace your competitors. You learn from their mistakes as they learn from yours. You strive to do better, which makes them strive to do better and the improvements become cyclical. In the end, the consumer has a better product because of the process.
Two, you do everything in your power to make sure the consumer has no other choice than to buy your product or service.
With Apple’s original posturing about iPhone patents and now the first aggressive action with them I fear Apple is changing the way is deals with competition.
Related: John Gruber, This Apple-HTC Patent Thing
Posted on: March 3, 2010 – 1:16 PM
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