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Comment by d4nt | Hacker News Reader

The article starts with some naive and clearly exaggerated statements about what might happen before finally getting to the real point, which is:

> The case will take years to resolve, but that's no bad thing for Apple: manufacturers are going to be hesitant to create Android handsets...

If Apple thought they could get a clean victory they would go after Google.

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I think it's pretty clear they are going after Google. By going after one manufacturer you put the brakes on the rest. Either it was a piece of HTC technology that violated patent or it was Google tech.

BTW. I hate the idea of software patents and wish it ends badly for Apple.

"the use of a proxy object to communicate between threads"

WTF. How the hell do they get away with establishing non-obviousness for these things? (Wouldn't that cover OTP, Go channels, Java Channels, etc.?)

I have no beef with Apple per se (thus would have you wish that for all companies) but clearly software patent system is fundamentally flawed.

I would rather that law makers deal with the IP issues in a mature way then wish ill-will to someone using the current system. We really need to get some pressure where it matters (government). The courts do what they are told for the most part.

Except it could hurt apple if HTC happens to also have a lot of nice little patents which the iPhone is infringing (not so far fetch). I have a feeling that this will never end up in court and a cross patent+cash deal will happen. Disclaimer: IANAL so whatever I just said could be total crap.

> Except it could hurt apple if HTC happens to also have a lot of nice little patents which the iPhone is infringing (not so far fetch).

Or Google, should they decide to go on the offensive.

I think the interesting point is that if HTC settles using either cross licensing some patent of their own, or by paying to license whichever of Apple's patents are upheld, the outcome will be to limit Android to those who can defend themselves similarly.

This might actually be good for innovation. Android - strong as it is, is not a leap forward from the iPhone, but it's now the center of gravity for most people who need a mobile os to go on their touchscreen devices. If there was more incentive to develop a truly radical mobile ux on top of Linux, it might be better for all of us.

If any of this comes to pass, then the open-source aspect of android will become much more important: development will simply shift to countries that don't have software patents

Well, some of the patents are hardware, and you still need to sell your device in countries that will recognize these patents to make it worth making.

I expect a settlement out of this, there just seems to be something else going on that is behind closed doors. It just doesn't quite make sense how it is being reported.

Well, some of the patents are hardware, and you still need to sell your device in countries that will recognize these patents to make it worth making.

Sure, but as long as someone is selling the hardware (perhaps even licensing the appropriate patents) the hacker/end-user would still be able to compile and load software to make it all work.

I expect a settlement too, if only because I can't imagine that HTC has enough money to invalidate all of the patents/show that they don't infringe on them.

After the Kodak / Sun patent suit, I wouldn't count on HTC's ability to invalidate any of the patents. The power patent might be unavoidable.

I'd say the Nexus One and Droid are leaps forward from the iPhone at least in terms of hardware capability. Remember that this is a suit against a hardware manufacturer, not the software developer.

If Apple was confident of their devices' ability to outcompete HTC's in the market, they wouldn't have bothered to file this suit. They're suing because they are afraid of these things.

Perhaps they're going for the settlement to use as ammunition for going against Google?

I quite doubt Apple's going to attack Google directly. Their weird App Store rejections and now the HTC lawsuit (read, not Google) indicate that Apple prefers a passive-aggressive stance.

If Apple sues Google, Google will stop paying Apple for Safari search ad revenue and make iPhone users hate Apple by blocking Maps and YouTube and breaking iPhone Mail's Gmail button. I'm sure Apple wouldn't want that.

Google taking ReMail off of the App Store is a very nice stroke of theirs against Apple. This gives Android phones the big advantage of Google's gmail search.

This is misconception that is being repeated over and over. They ARE going after Google. It's very clear.

It's also silly to think that HTC is in this alone. If HTC loses, Google loses. They'll throw whatever money/support they need to to back up HTC.

If you don't need a clean victory to win, why would you pick a fight with the best paid lawyers in town and give away your hometown vs. foreigner advantage?

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