Bonum Certa Men Certa

Is Steve Jobs' Motto “Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal”?

"We've Always Been Shameless About Stealing Great Ideas" --Steve Jobs

[an error occurred while processing this directive]





Direct link



Summary: More information than Apple wants the public to know about its attitude towards copying and its latest patent lawsuit against Linux/Android

Yesterday we wrote about Apple suing Linux phones using software patents [1, 2]. Apple should be ashamed of itself and its followers ought to rethink their relationship with a brand that has committed the crimes of Hubris. As TechDirt correctly puts it (regarding Apple's lawsuit):

It's usually a sign that a company is worried that it can't keep up with the competition.


Gizmodo has this new post which brings back a good video from the past. It's the video we put at the top (and made an Ogg version of).

Oh, hello! A trip to the YouTube wayback machine shows that 1996's Steve "Great Artists Steal" Jobs might have taken issue with Steve Jobs 2010, and his patent lawsuit firebombing of HTC. Irony!

The comment was made during a 1996 PBS documentary called "Triumph of the Nerds," and looks a smidge hypocritical in light of today's events. As does this one:


Let's remember that Apple also invests in Microsoft's patent troll, Nathan Myhrvold, who argues that "intellectual property is the next software."

Here is an Open Letter to Steve Jobs:

But when you sue someone for doing something you do yourself, you become one of the bad guys. Can you name a company you admire that spends its time enforcing patents, instead of innovating? Remember the pirate flag you flew over Apple's headquarters when you were building the Mac? Is Apple part of the Navy now?


Apple is just upsetting it own fans, as we showed yesterday with an example. How about this new article?

Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch: Let’s Sue the Internet



So Apple is suing HTC, the premier manufacturer of Android-based phones, including Google’s Nexus One. And Rupert Murdoch is suing Google—or so he says.

[...]

It’s a Steve thing. Not just a temper tantrum. But an operatic one. It’s Steve Jobs’ signature: pride and paranoia. Behind it, too, is the motivation of all great competitors—they really don’t want to compete, they want the market for themselves. Now it’s Google, rather than Microsoft, copying him. It’s Google’s phone he’s out to get. He’s pissed off: Google controls the Internet and all he controls is his rotten phone.


One of the culprits here is also the patent system, which is worth reforming or abolishing. It does nothing good for society, say patent holders themselves (whose employers asked them to apply for patents). ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

No Noticeable Libera Chat Exodus After Code of Censorship (CoC) Scandal Earlier This Month
Libera Chat pissed off some people by unmasking the CoC's real purpose
The Local Staff Committee Munich (LSCMN) Speaks of Deterioration of Working Conditions at the European Patent Office (EPO)
"At least 3 days per week in the Office for an allocated office"
IBM's Anderon is Like Theranos, But Will Anybody at IBM or Anderon Be Imprisoned for This Billion-Dollar Scam?
Will anyone ever be held accountable for it?
 
IBM's "RA Season" is Nearly Upon Us, But Tens of Thousands Are Already Marked for Removal With PIPs (as "Low Performers")
IBM is a dying company
Microsoft Has Confirmed It Had a Plan to Cut Azure (or Azure Costs) by 20%
So basically... yes! Microsoft did have a plan to slash Azure.
Red Hat Silent Layoffs Seem to Carry on Throughout This Month
How much longer will these silent layoffs (e.g. PIPs) carry on for?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Netflix and Its Newest Rival Carry 100 Billion Dollars in Debt
What sort of economy is this?
Egypt: GNU/Linux Still Measured at About 5%
Egypt is a prominent African nation and economy
Gemini Links 14/10/2026: Time Allocation, English as a Fourth Language, and "Reading News Sources" in Geminispace
Links for the day
DRM Giant Announces Giant Layoffs (Netflix’s Debt is Huge)
It's not like operational costs are decreasing, they're climbing fast.
Intercontinental Brigading - Part III - Reporting Harassment From America to British Police
Why are they so hostile towards (and afraid of) cops?
Gemini Links 14/10/2026: GemPub, Randogoth Forge F-Droid Repo, Oddμ, and Kolibri
Links for the day
Bluewashing as Silent RAs: A "journey that began at Neudesic [...] and continued as part of IBM" inevitably came "to a close"
IBM can be antagonistic and reckless with whatever it buys
Links 14/10/2026: Houthi Attacks on KSA and Airstrikes Near Sudan-Egypt Border
Links for the day
No Coronation for 'Cocaine King' Campinos (Not Yet Anyway)
A flash update suggests perils exist and we must all wait until December as the position for EPO President may open
In Reddit, Moderators of IBM Subs Are Allegedly on IBM's Payroll (IBM Can Censor Discussions About IBM)
There also seem to be PIP layoffs in India
If Worthless Companies Are Valued at a Billion Dollars in the Slop Industry, Then What Is the True Worth of 'Trillion-Dollar' Companies?
Definitely not a bubble!
It Sounds Like Microsoft Plans to Lay Off Over 2,000 Azure (Microsoft) Workers as the Datacentre Business Brings Nothing But Epic Debt
Trillions in losses is not a solid business plan
Microsoft XBox Won't Survive, Microsoft's CEO for This Perishing Business Turns to Slop
What the founder or father of XBox said about Asha Sharma earlier this year turns out to be accurate
Links 14/10/2026: So-called 'AI' Giants Go Bankrupt, "Military Will Hack the Election"
Links for the day
Indoor Season
we have more planned in order to improve navigation, accessibility, and workflows
Microsoft Demands That Staff Keeps Silent About the Mass Layoffs
Way to cause anger and ensure whistleblowers will go to the media
Microsoft Has Had Mass Layoffs in Azure Every Year Since 2020 and the Bleeding Continues Because It Misreports Earnings There
This is a bad week for Microsoft
Microsoft's International Mass Layoffs (Asia, Europe, Africa), Now Vietnam
A crisis that Microsoft is unable to hide
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Gemini Links 14/10/2026: Ceiling Fan, Fascism, Democracy, and Slop Being a Huge Bubble
Links for the day
Reports of Stress and Layoffs at Microsoft, Some People Laid Off Under the Guise of "Ban" (Gift From the Administration) and Many Sacked in India
"pip and gvsa" layoffs in India
ITwire Became Slop and Spam
The site still exists, but it's not what it used to be
W3C Died 20 Years Ago, Now We Live in a Post-W3C Era. Linux Foundation is 'Slop Bros', Now Linux is Becoming Unfree.
Torvalds is on the same side as Epsteingate
We're Way Past the Point Where Companies Announce or Declare Mass Layoffs
Layoffs are becoming hidden
Linux Kernel to Hide the Slop to Avoid Backlash, Suggestion Made by Former Microsoft Employee While Another Former Microsoft Employee is Worst Slopper/Culprit in Linux
Did Torvalds listen to slop antagonists?
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Besieged by Blind Justice UK, Politicians Increasingly Involved
"Today we have written to Members of both Houses of Parliament"
Vance Has Helped Microsoft Implement Secret, Silent Layoffs
Nothing excites Microsoft more than means by which to discard many employees without an obligation to tell shareholders about it
To The Register MS, Microsoft is the Only Brand That's at the Main Menu!
Consider that the Editor of The Register MS is a longtime faithful Microsofter
Microsoft's Collapse Will Continue, It's Drowning in Debt Now
Expect many more mass layoffs
Legal Self-Sufficiency
The more impact our work has, the more legal bullying will come our way
Plans for Winter in Manchester and London
From many perspectives, we're satisfied with the certainty and robustness of UK hosting, it's just that we're not yet robust/resistant enough to DDoS attacks
Customer Support Experience in 2026
Because the customer is never right
Microsoft Shutdowns in Africa, Mass Layoffs Also Reported This Week
further shutdowns
Links 13/10/2026: More Plagiarism Lawsuit Over Slop and AirAsia Needs State Help
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part II - An Outline of This Series
What's to come
Gemini Links 13/10/2026: Dopamine Nation, Planner and Fatigue, and Moderators
Links for the day
Links 13/10/2026: Norway Fines Microsoft and Cops Can Creep on Airbnb
Links for the day
When Computers "Expire" Because Certificates Expire
People who promote Restricted Boot are liars. They lie for a living.
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 12, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, October 12, 2026
Gemini Links 13/10/2026: Modern Science, Joplin, Luddites, and Lots More
Links for the day