Nokia claims Google's Nexus 7 tablet infringes its patents | Hacker News Reader

Nokia claims Google's Nexus 7 tablet infringes its patents

theinquirer.net

35 pointscooldeal19 comments

Of course it does, everything infringes patents. You can't write Hello World without infringing a hundred patents.

This insanity has to end. The patent system was an experiment, it has failed, there is now plenty of evidence that having the government go around granting monopolies to private corporations hinders innovation and competition[1], it is time to abolish it.

[1]: There is evidence not just for software, but from many other industries: http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/general/intellectual/against.h...

From my way of looking at it, industries differ a lot in how patents affect them. The ideal solution would not be to toss things out, lock, stock and barrel, but to craft a more fine-grained system. I agree that software patents stink, though.

It's a pity. From a technological standpoint the new Windows Phone stuff is actually pretty appealing. Programming in a nice modern language like C# for a new, clean UI paradigm sounds like fun. And working in a less saturated market has its upsides too of course.

But I won't touch anything from MS with a barge pole because they've shown time and time again that they have the ethics of a back-alley pimp. Have no doubt that they're behind this.

So this is the so called "Plan B" that Nokia has been talking about. Not strange, because their patents are the most important asset they have, and is the only real reason for anyone to acquire the company.

Nokia has been claiming patent infringements for years -- just like Apple, Microsoft, and 1000 other companies. What does this have to do with a "Plan B"?

Nokia is selling millions of Lumina phones to rave reviews by consumers and experts, but let's write them off because you have a different phone.

This stuff happens all the time, let's not forget that Google sold HTC patents strictly for the purpose of letting HTC use those patents to sue Apple.

We write them off because their share price has collapsed, they're firing employees left right and center, their sales are collapsing and they are posting significant losses while betting the farm on a platform that so far just isn't making much of a dent in anything.

Maybe they'll manage to recover, but even if they do, regaining the kind of position they used to have is highly unlikely..

Microsoft trojan horse Elop strikes again.

Grow up.

I appreciate the irony of your comment.

aww thats so cute. Nokia's still around guys! Guys! We're still around!

> unlike Apple, it's doubtful that Nokia will seek injunctions against the Google Nexus 7. Instead, Nokia is more likely to request that Google or Asus obtain the proper licenses.

Of course, they need every coin they can get, in hope that things will get better eventually when Windows Phone 8 arrives...

One more reason to grab nexus 7 while it lasts.

That the patents in question relate to a 'standard' (WIFI) makes this doubly saddening, although I suppose if one happened to have done something particularly clever when implementing a standard that might be patentable.

FRAND is all well and good when you have a healthy business, but when you're dying you're going to go down swinging using any tool possible.

I wonder how most tech companies legal expenses compare to R&D budgets. Are patent wars still a coat-effective way of gaining market share? What technology would we gave in our pockets now if patents and legal battles were abandoned and that money spent on innovation?

Well if you don't defend your research then every penny spent on R&D is thrown away since if you actually do innovate something (R&D spending doesn't guarantee this) everyone else will just steal it.

Good times to be a lawyer.

Good grief!

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