Patent lawsuits back in fashion
22.02.12
KARLIN LILLINGTON
LITIGATION IS nothing new as a business tool – even the ancient Greeks had laws protecting trademarks.
But by any measurement, 2011 was an extraordinary year in terms of technology companies resorting to legal fisticuffs, particularly within one narrow sector: smartphones and tablet computers such as the iPad and Samsung Galaxy (which run on similar operating systems).
As in any brawl, usually just a few pugnacious characters start it. In this case, it has been Apple and Google aiming punches in disputes about patents involving Apple’s iPhone and iPad software, and Google’s open source Android operating system, which has found a home in an ever increasing range of mobile handsets and tablets in a market that Apple long dominated.
From early on in 2010, as Android’s star rose, Apple was quick to seek the courts to defend what it claims as unique, patented features in its device software. And Google, and a gaggle of Android handset manufacturers, have been ready to stand firm and defend Android.
Source: Irish Times