Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by Timothee | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

Timothee

One thing that surprises me in the images was that one of them is exactly "Where to?" by tap tap tap:

http://taptaptap.com/#whereto

View on HN

Wow, it's just blatently ripped off! Wonder what else they got "inspired" by...

Direct links to the images:

taptaptap: http://taptaptap.com/img/screenshot/whereto/1.jpg

the patent: http://www.unwiredview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Apple-... (upper right "mockup")

This can only mean one of two things: Either Apple is being extremely hostile and alienating one of their top developers, or they are preparing themselves for an acquisition of taptaptap in the immediate future.

They'd have to pry it from Disney.

I think you're mistaking tap tap tap and Tapulous, no?

Tapulous is the maker of the Tap Tap Revenge series that was recently bought by Disney. tap tap tap is another very successful iPhone app company but to my knowledge they haven't been bought out. (and with their huge marketing machine, they would let it be known)

After thinking about it and talking with some of my colleagues, I think it would be less of a talent acquisition and more of an IP acquisition. And it would have to be a pretty valuable one at this point, as taptaptap are making some serious cash right now.

That should not be that hard. Steve Jobs is the single largest shareholder of Disney and on Disney's board.

That's a cropped image. The actual patent image is here: http://aiw1.uspto.gov:80/.DImg?Docid=20100190510&PageNum... (Open it in something that supports TIFF if your browser doesn't display it. Photoshop worked for me.)

In the un-cropped version you can see that the image is labeled #602. Here's the only part of the patent body where 602 is referenced:

  For example, an interface such as interface 602 can be provided on
  a user's electronic device. Through interface 602, a user can
  search for and view information on the  various airport services
  available in the airport.

It might not have been proper for Apple to copy another company's work for illustration in their patent, but the copied UI is for illustration of one possible UI for the described app. IANAL, but it doesn't read to me like they're trying to claim invention of the UI.

maybe they are trying to protect the app, so that folks on other platforms (cough-google-cough) don't rip it off?

If a patent is filed by someone other than the inventor then it is void. They would have to put the taptaptap people on the patent.

The goal of Section 3.3.1, pursued through patents.

I work for a major online retailer, and their mobile shopping patent application appears to have lifted screens from our mobile shopping app. I've forwarded this story to our head of merchandising to see if we will submit our prior art on this...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com