The Apple in the HTC
March 3rd, 2010 omo
My opinions on the Google/Apple proxy fight over the HTC lawsuit…is pretty simple.
I forget where I read it from, maybe Gizmodo, but they outlined the timeline of the relationship between Google and Apple, of Eric Schmidt meeting with Steve Jobs back in ‘06, around the launch of the iPhone. Steadily the two companies drifted apart, as they were not a match made in heaven (although it would be a very cool slate of white if they stuck together).
I’m biased towards Goog, being a user of their stuff much more so than anything Apple, and also I buy in to their open-ness philosophy. And it’s in that openness where the two businesses ultimately conflict. Apple is many things, but open was never one of them.
The lawsuit itself is actually not as big of a deal as people may suggest. The best way to think of it, is to read about the suit going on over at Nokia, where Apple is sued and suing for various patent infringement. If I recall correctly, the same kind of saber rattling has been made between Palm and Apple too, earlier on in the first days of Pre.
And this is really just saber rattling. I remember actually watching an episode of the Engadget Show where they interviewed this winsome Asian engineer who spoke for the Nexus One development team. He told us about multitouch, as it was a hot topic being pressed (as in, why didn’t the N1 have it). The way he deconstructs the terminology totally smells like a lawsuit coming down the pipe, at least to me. Some did consider the lack of pinch-to-zoom on the N1 default browser at the time as a result of some legal dealing. But as far as non-rumors go, the Google rep said that Android (1.6+) supports multitouch, and that support is most visible in the touch keyboard (to avoid key shadowing/jamming). On the other hand, most people mean “multiple-finger gestures” when they say multitouch, it is a bit of a misnomer. That is an application-side implementation, and really has nothing to do with Android technically.
This distinction is similar to how one approaches the interpretation of a patent claim. The difference between a patent lawyer and a, well, non-patent-lawyer person.
And if commercial litigation is not your customary cup of tea, let me just say that something with so much at stake, between large companies as Apple and HTC, is very rarely a surprise for either side. I believe when that episode of the Engadget Show went on air, Apple, Google and HTC were already talking about this. In fact by the response of the rep, it probably means he has been coached about it. And if you take the average speed of the corporate pipeline between your legal dept and your dev PR person, that is probably a good indicator of how long things have been in the talks, before it’s public. And even if it’s a “surprise,” it’s customary before filing a suit to at least tell your opposing counsel that “dude, we’re gonna sue, you cool?” After all this is still business as usual.
Also since one of their patents listed on the complaint was dated Feb. 2 2010, it’s a safe bet that the talks begin right around then.
How else can you assert your patent rights, if not via litigation? I mean it isn’t free to prosecute (create) patents. Make them work!
And companies like Palm and Nokia have made theirs work. Unlike HTC, who is still in the midst of transiting from a contract-manufacturer to a brand vendor (and only just that), both of these guys were drawing it up at the USPTO since the 90s at the latest. Patents are like weapons, where as you can use them defensively and offensively. And I guess Apple needs to flex its new-found muscle.
As to what Apple wants out from the suit, I presume they would be happy enough with just a licensing agreement. It is a no-brainer to see that Android phones will take up as the #1 competition for Apple’s device market–from eReaders to MIDs to smartphones (and dumb phones and photo frames and netbooks and whatever). And quite frankly, Jobs has nothing to gain by killing the competition this way; they’ll draw ire from too many people, consumers, competitors and governments. A controlled menace that serves as a perpetual second-in-market seems more suitable for long-term growth. Obviously everyone else who’ve had a sip of the magic Android juice will not likely to budge; essentially a negative ruling against HTC is a ruling against Samsung, Sony, Moto and LG…that’s like everybody but Nokia (who was already suing) and RIM, lol. Not to mention Dell, Lenovo, and whoever “owns” the Nook, among others. No way Apple is going to take them on.
The one thing that bothered me about the HTC lawsuit coverage is how people talk about cross-patent blocks on innovation. It is a point that is taken way too well in the patent community, but com’on; I mean, there is such a thing as the patent pool, and how people may have forgotten to take a dip in it.
I think at the same time, Apple does deserve something for consistently being the pioneer of their markets. Perhaps their fattened bottom line as a natural industry leader in the smartphone space is enough, I don’t know, but I guess an actual judge will be the judge of that now.
So what’s the takeaway?
1. It sucks, but that’s how the game is played. The consumers are the ultimate tax paying source. HTC and those hardware vendors live on thin margins relatively speaking. Google really will have to lend its legal muscle to its cause.
2. IBM. IBM is the #1 entity in the world at contributing to open-source development. Android is an open source platform. What is different between IBM’s work and Android? IBM is the #1 patent player in the world, and uh, they’re mostly about D. And as I always say, good D wins in the playoffs.
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