Interesting quote from the URL you posted: Ultimately, the U.S. Department of Justice intervened, forcing Microsoft to sell the patents it bought and demanding that the winning group (Microsoft, Oracle, Apple, EMC) give a license to the open-source community, changes the DoJ said were “necessary to protect competition and innovation in the open source software community.”<http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/April/11-at-491.html> This only reaffirms our point: Our competitors are waging a patent war on Android and working together to keep us from getting patents that would help balance the scales.
So basically, I think Android as an open source based OS is pretty safe, save for Oracle's claim it violates the Java Community Process. Apple's attack is likely to be more difficult. Android clearly has a very iPhone-y UI, and the carriers/manufacturers (Samsung for example) tend to make it even more so. iPhone changed the industry, even forcing ATT to create new monthly data plans. It was a breath taking change. I don't like Apple's hegemony but they clearly need protection from copy-cat devices and services. It really does look odd that as soon as Apple's brilliant creativity nailed a new market, built a brilliant device, created the "App" market and distribution scheme .. you see exactly the same thing in the Android world. Subtle: I do think creativity should be rewarded. -- Owen PS: Interestingly enough, many Apps are still not available on Android. One reason, apparently, is that Android devices have a large number differences, making a single Android app difficult. Apple, on the other hand, makes it increasingly easy to write one app for iPad, iPhone, iPod .. and with Lion, even "computers". Reminds me of the microsoft problem: app developers would have liked to have a Mac product too, but found keeping up with all the versions of windows hard enough to make Mac development not worth it. On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 10:59 AM, Roger Critchlow <[email protected]> wrote: > Google suggested last week ( > http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/when-patents-attack-android.html<http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/when-patents-attack-android.html?> > ) that > everything Android is under a coordinated attack. The evidence is that > Apple and Microsoft are colluding to bid up patent portfolios to several > times their face value which prevents Google from gaining ownership of any > patents that could be used to defend Android. > > It could be a very interesting anti-trust proceeding since the evidence is > all out there in plain sight. > > -- rec -- > > On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 9:35 AM, Owen Densmore <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Whoa! I knew Apple was after Google for its Java architecture, but now >> the Samsung Tab for UI: >> >> http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=16416 >> >> >> I'll be a bit unpopular here and say, Yes, it really does look like >> Samsung did very little original work here .. after all they're a hardware >> outfit doing little more than cosmetic "branding". >> >> But it's based on Android, so shouldn't Google be the target? I suppose >> it is, but Samsung is getting the brunt of it all. >> >> This is going to be quite a battle .. looking at the article's image, the >> average consumer would have assumed it was a nice, smaller sized addition to >> the iDevice line. >> >> In the phone world, I know Google has a "standard UI" and that most >> handset manufacturers mess with it to be their own (often making a mess of >> things and wasting your battery for you!). It seems Android phones have not >> had this level of patent threat from Apple. The OS is certainly not an >> infringement. But I guess the UI and look-alike design is under attack. >> >> -- Owen >> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >> > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >
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