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Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?

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Kaiser-Machead
01/30/09

In reply to Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
Maybe if Palm wins, Apple will have to up the ante considerably more and add things that they probably would've omitted because of some misplaced sense of design principles, such as the infamous copy & paste, and the like.
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frigg
01/30/09

In reply to Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
So basically, if you created a device just like the iPhone, but added, say, a pair of pendulous boobs in the middle of the touchscreen, legally you'd be in the clear.
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zenpoet
01/30/09

In reply to Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
Everyone needs to make sure to keep track of their time spent on responses to this, as these are good billable hours we can send to Palm's legal team.
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Kaiser-Machead
01/30/09

@zenpoet: Gotta send off an engagement letter to let them know that they have extra counsel :P
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GitEmSteveDave_My Brute Dojo CDIAFIFE
01/30/09

In reply to Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
I've got a rocket in my pocket!

Palm, do you like Elton John? Why? B/c you're about to be the Rocket Man!
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Kaiser-Machead
01/30/09

@Starscream_GitEmSteveDave: Didn't Palm say "I don't like soft-ass shit" before Nicholas Cage pressed the button?
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Kaiser-Machead
01/30/09

In reply to Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
Nice writeup, and interesting to see what Palm comes up with in the end. As one who's growing fond of multitouch on touch-controlled devices, I'd hate for the designs to be stifled because one company holds the keys to lots of gestures.
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wetworker
01/30/09

In reply to Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
I totally agree with the prof.

"Designing around patents requires innovation," said Prof. Wagner, "and a lot of times, the end result turns out better than the what was being imitated."

The zunepad kills apple click wheel.
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Kaiser-Machead
01/30/09

@wetworker: After using this control, it's hard for me to say. Despite being a very creative second generation Zune controller, to me, it just doesn't combine all of the media control elements as well as the iPod clickwheel does. Every single hard control is integrated into one piece, rather than split into three separate components like the Zune's/Gigabeat's layout.
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A Snake a Snake... OH it's a Snake!
01/30/09

In reply to Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
I've decided I don't like long articles. The headline and the pictures usually draw me in and if there's not too much text I'll read it. This, I did not read...
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transzoo
01/30/09

@Arggh! there goes a...snake a snake! ohhhhhhhh it's snake!: Yea, but you'll sure leave pointless comments!
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A Snake a Snake... OH it's a Snake!
01/30/09

@transzoo: You make a good point.
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
01/30/09

@Arggh! there goes a...snake a snake! ohhhhhhhh it's snake!: I don't know. It seemed kind of pointless to make that point.. ;)
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transzoo
01/30/09

In reply to Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
Honestly it's situations like this that demonstrate why software patents, and perhaps patents in general, must die. Patents, the artificial social construct they are, came about to encourage innovation, not stifle it.
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ZLevee
01/30/09

@transzoo: your argument works better if you say "patents need to be shortened in duration". If there were no patents, there would be little incentive to try to bring your idea to market, becasue soembody else with more cash to get production going more efficiently would just steal your idea and start making the same thing and undercut your price.
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transzoo
01/30/09

@Zlevee: I'm going to reply to your comment rather then all the comments individually. But I'll say this, there's a joke that two capitalists are walking along and one says there's a $20 bill on the ground, and the other says "no that's impossible, someone would have picked it up".

There plenty of innovations before the idea of patents and there'd be plenty more. Companies now exists solely to buy and apply for patents for ideas that will never be bought to market just incase someone else gets and then uses the same idea.

Patents now do more to stifle innovation then encourage it. Also the idea that people wouldn't invent things or continue to innovate because they MIGHT, and that's a big might, not make as much money as they would if they were able to have sole control over their idea is kind of silly. One need only look at Linux and other open source projects to see examples of refutation.

A great primer on the subject of patents and intellectual property in general outliving their usefulness can be found at [libertariannation.org]
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ZLevee
01/30/09

@transzoo: If you can make a reasonable improvement on a patent, and not a trivial difference, you can get a patent on that. Patents aren't stifling at all.

FYI, I'm a licensed patent attorney.
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Armando J. Arviso
01/30/09

In reply to Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
Screw the Patent arguement!! I just want our missles to look like that!! Think of it. We could subsidize our nuclear arsenal out to corporations. Trident missles by google, with live google map tracking! Apple warheads with integrated speakers to blast ACDC as they fly through the air, also trackable with your iphone. We could solve the budget crisis!
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Purple Dave
01/30/09

@Armando J. Arviso:
"Trident missles by google, with live google map tracking!"

So we can see Bambi right before the missile hits?
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