Via sues Apple for patent infringement over 'microprocessor functionalities' | Hacker News Reader

Via sues Apple for patent infringement over 'microprocessor functionalities'

via.com.tw

22 pointsnickolai19 comments

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 ...

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?

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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?

"Apple engineers developed the A4 chip"[1], even if it's originally an ARM design I can see them being liable for it.

[1] http://www.apple.com/iphone/design/#a4

Except thats a Samsung design that Samsung developed for Apple and now sells an almost identical version for other vendors.

Apple are probably referring to the fact that they later bought the company that did some power tuning on the chip in collaboration with Samsung. Those engineers are presumably now "Apple engineers".

Intentionally misleading, but also factual as stated.

You're right, they are Apple employees now. Apple bought Intrinsity in 2010:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/technology/28apple.html

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.

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.

No, PA Semi and Intrisity are. Last time I noticed they were still separate legal entities from Apple even though Apple acquired them.

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

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.

O sweet Irony.

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.

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