Bonum Certa Men Certa

Apple is Bullying Competitors -- Including Linux -- Using Software Patents

Peekaboo



Summary: Apple is not just barking at Linux phone makers (e.g. Palm) but it is also biting by suing and increasing the magnitude of existing lawsuits against the likes of Motorola (Android)

THE threat of Apple is not just a threat to software freedom (as last explained late at night); it is a threat to fair competition and it's a distortion of the market. Watch the "Business Idea" comic and remember that Apple -- by its own admission -- is just taking other people's ideas. A few nights ago we did a special episode on software patents and mentioned Apple for its role in this too. Apple is suing to embargo Linux-based phones/phone makers, using software patents to generally remove competition or remove features from competitors' products. "Apple Lawyers Up for Patent Showdowns With Nokia" says this new headline from BusinessWeek and it's not the only patent war where Apple increases its level of ammunition to exclude rivals from the mobile market (some are using the Linux-powered Android). As a reminder, Apple is said to have signaled that it would sue Nokia and Motorola.



Steve Jobs made Apple Inc.’s iPhone one of the best-selling smartphones on the market with its touch screen, fast Web connection and access to more than 300,000 downloadable applications. Now he’s adding lawyers to the mix.

Apple is squaring off this week against Nokia Oyj, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker, before the International Trade Commission. The dispute, in which each side alleges intellectual property violations, is also a precursor to Apple patent battles with Motorola Inc. and HTC Corp.


Apple is going further than patents and it can easily be shown that it is more of a thug than people realise. "Apple Forces Removal Of Steve Jobs Action Figure," shows TechDirt, which speaks about a cult item:

A Chinese company, MIC Gadget, got some attention for its Steve Jobs figurine but some of that attention came from Apple's lawyers, who forced the company to stop selling the item.


"I didn't know that Apple owns Steve Jobs," said gnufreex in our IRC channels. "Thought it is other way around" (to them, he is a marketing tool, just like Bill Gates is to Microsoft).

"Apple Gets Partial Win in Case Alleging Copyright Infringement by iPhone App," says Eric Goldman:

Martyn Stewart recorded a bunch of nature sounds, including bird sounds, which a third party developer allegedly incorporated into the "iBird" app. Stewart sued the developer and, predictably, sued Apple as well.


Separately, Apple is stacking up more patents. One report says that "[i]n March, inventor Timothy R. Pryor assigned his interest in three patents and 10 patent applications covering methods for interacting with automobile telematics equipment and home appliances over to Apple."

"Apple Wins Patent for Glasses-Free 3-D TV" says this other report (one among more).

3-D TV--a fad or the future? Apple's vote is for "future". The company's just won a patent on a glasses-free 3-D TV system that's so advanced it sounds like sci-fi. And not necessarily in a good way.

Apple applied for this patent back in 2006, but unlike much of the patent speculation that surrounds one of the world's most successful (and most sued) companies, this one has just been granted by the USPTO.


Apple would lie about using patents defensively; clearly that's not the case. The only "defensive" thing about its stance is that it defends its shareholders' bank accounts.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Reboots Should Never be Necessary
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY!!"
There's Still Hope for the World Wide Web
Let's hope that the trajectory of the Web won't be leading us to over-reliance on Google, nor will it reward worthless slopfarms
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Smolweb and Alhena 5.1.7
Links for the day
 
19 Years of Standing Up for Justice, Equality, and Truth
This week we shall take it up a notch
Gemini Links 16/07/2025: Tmux and OCC25 Working TLS
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 15, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Links 15/07/2025: LLM Pollution and Pushback in Ukraine
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: xkcd, New Cert, and Alhena Gemlog
Links for the day
Links 15/07/2025: Press Freedom at Risk and New Facebook Blunders
Links for the day
The Danes Want GNU/Linux
David Heinemeier Hansson recently moved to GNU/Linux
Cory Doctorow Explains Why Software Freedom Matters, Whereas "Open Source" Misses the Point and Helps Monopolies
It's a very long article
BillPR (EpsteinGate-Bribed NPR) is Turning Into a Partial Slopfarm that Promotes Slop
"I went on a date with a chatbot!"
Two Weeks Passed Since Latest Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, More Expected Next Month
Blaming the debt on "AI" is just self-serving storytelling
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 14, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 14, 2025
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Gemini "Style Sheets" and Switching From Microsoft GitHub to Codeberg
Links for the day
Coming Soon: Another OSI Scandal, This One Implicating Molly de Blanc
OSI has been fairly quiet lately
Outreachy & Debian pregnancy cluster, Meike Reichle evidence
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Again, "Lunduke is Actually Sending His Audience to Attack People"
Microsoft Lunduke is not trying to "protect" Linux
XBox is Rapidly Turned Into a Slopfarm by Microsoft
Slop isn't about efficiency and saving money
One of the Most Hilarious Things About the Microsoft SLAPPs
It's so ridiculous
Financial Support for the Free Software Foundation or the GNU Project
The FSF has extended until Friday its fund-raising campaign
Illegally Hiding (or Demanding Secrecy Around) Illegal Requests or Attempts at Extortion
unlawful communications like threats
Microsoft's Halloween Documents and systemd, Wayland, Etc.
Maybe one day Wayland will be widespread. Or maybe not.
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: BOFH Archive, Updating Old Palm PDAS, and Nginx vs Slop Bots
Links for the day
Ubuntu is Becoming GAFAM-Like
What does that say about Canonical and Ubuntu?
Slopfarms Which Take Real Articles About GNU/Linux and Turn Them Into Copycats Which Are False
Even before the LLM hype those were quite common
The Firm That Picks on Techrights is Accustomed to Working With Criminals
Techrights never did anything illegal. So why is it being picked on by people who work with criminals?
Microsoft Said the Mass Layoffs Were for "Investment" in "AI", But It's Also Laying Off the "AI" and "Copilot" Staff
Months ago we showed many so-called "AI" people were getting the boot and this time it's the same
DryDeadFish is Dead, Long Live DryDeadFish
We kept checking, hoping it can recover from some temporary technical issue
For Quite Some Time Already Microsoft Attracts Crackpots, Scams, and More
Occasionally we talk about the situation at IBM as there are many parallels
Links 14/07/2025: Chatbots Broken Again, McHire LLM Shows Limits of the Hype
Links for the day
Changing One's Name Won't Change One's Past
People who have earned a bad reputation are not magically "entitled" to reset
People Who Assault Women Are Not Victims of "Distress"
It seems like an American tradition. In a country with almost 50 presidents, not even one was a female.
Slashdot Media Turned Linux Journal Into a Slopfarm and Now Slashdot Actively Promotes Anti-Linux Slopfarms
Yes, "no-nonsense" apparently means actual nonsense
Adoption of Gemini Protocol Still Growing
Gemini Protocol is being obscured by the media - it doesn't help that Google 'hijacked' the word "Gemini" - but people still manage to find out about it, download a client, and use it
Links 14/07/2025: Arresting Photographers, Threats to Revoke US Citizenship Over Criticism
Links for the day
More EPO Leaks on the Way
We hope that Mr. Rowan will actually try to refute what we say and show, not merely point the finger at the messengers
Decommodification is a Corporate Strategy Against Communities
systemd is led by Microsoft and hosted by Microsoft
copyleft.org 'Hijacked' by the People Who Attack the Person Who Created Copyleft
So far there's nothing "tasteless" in copyleft.org, but that can change at any time in the future
Asking People to Take Down Articles and Videos Only Makes These More Popular and "Viral"
If you do something bad, one of the worst things you can possibly do it try to silence those who speak about it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 13, 2025
Two-Thirds Towards FSF Goal, Richard Stallman to Give Talks in Europe
There are 67 left before reaching the target
Brett Wilson LLP "Takes it Personal" (Character Assassination, Not Professionalism). Everybody Can See That.
On behalf of violent men
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: Politicised Tech and "Leaving GitHub"
Links for the day