

Via sues Apple for patent infringement over 'microprocessor functionalities' - nickolai
http://www.via.com.tw/en/resources/pressroom/pressrelease.jsp?press_release_no=5787

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choko01
United States Patent (1997): 6253311 <http://1.usa.gov/o9tpqa>

United States Patent (1998): 6253312 <http://1.usa.gov/p0BErf>

United States Patent (2002): 6754810 <http://1.usa.gov/qI6MDt>

i just can't figure what it will be in 10 years for all the patents currently
filed ...

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bgarbiak
Is the recent brood of patent related lawsuits something extraordinary? And if
so what could be a reason for that? Economy crisis? Rise of smartphone/tablet
market? Or maybe the hi-tech industry was always like that, only no one from
the outside cared about it?

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podperson
The light bulb, the telephone, the electrical power system, and the television
-- to name a few examples off the top of my head -- were all fraught with
lawsuits, and the "winners" were not necessarily the people you'd think were
morally in the right.

If I recall with the telephone it was literally a matter of who got to the
filing desk first.

The difference today is that the products in the center of the fights are all
composed of a set of technologies each of which represents a bunch of inter-
related fights.

I guess the patent system is good at turning innovation into a lottery where
if you invent something crucial then you get a _shot_ at fame and fortune. And
psychology teaches us that random reinforcement works better than simply being
"fair", so as an incentive system the patent system seems to work. As a
dispenser of natural justice -- not so much.

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danssig
So are they suing everyone else too? Sounds like the whole computing world is
in violation of their massive 5,000 patent portfolio.

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shabble
As far as I know, unlike trademark infringement, both copyrights and patents
don't require active protection. You're allowed to pick your targets, and go
after them only.

I suspect it's down to one or more of the following factors:

* Everyone else is suing Apple, and they want a piece of the action.

* Google or someone else has had a few words in the right ears.

* Apple has a huge amount of ready cash, and they might just settle for a sizeable sum or licence because they've got other things to be doing.

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vetinari
Or none of the above.

VIA has close ties with HTC. Apple fired salvo against HTC, considering it
weak. So maybe it is not so weak after all.

Edit: To illustrate the close ties: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cher_Wang>

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shabble
That was where I was going with "or someone else has had a few words in the
right ears."

But I guess "chairperson of both boards pulled out the tomahawk" is also
valid, and probably quite a bit more compelling.

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DiabloD3
Why are they suing Apple? Apple doesn't make CPUs nor do they have control
over what instruction sets are in the CPUs they buy.

Am I missing something?

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jensnockert
Except Apple is designing CPUs, I don't really doubt that the lawsuit makes
sense. But somehow I have a feeling that the patents wouldn't make sense in a
perfect world.

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ssp
_Except Apple is designing CPUs, I don't really doubt that the lawsuit makes
sense._

Even if they didn't design them, just reselling patented devices is illegal.

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cageface
Live by the sword, die by the sword.

~~~
dmbaggett
As much as I agree with this sentiment, it's seems more like the rule of law
has been entirely suspended, and in a such a case _all_ die by the sword.

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Kell
O sweet Irony.

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danssig
Yea, because it's only Apple who sues people. It would have been irony if a
real patent troll company got sued for patent violations.

