» Rotten Apple Cynic’s Soapbox: Just a few ramblings on life

Posted in January 27th, 2009

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Edmund Burke

The US PTO really does make some dramatically poor decisions.

Of course, the patents have to be filed in the first place, so some of the blame must lie with the companies or individuals that make the applications. Surely an organisation like Apple has done a lot of work on the possible ramifications of being granted the patent - otherwise why would they have taken the time and effort to file it?

This patent screams of protectionism and a desire to make money while placing obstacles in their competitors way.

I believe the quote from Edmund Burke sums up my feelings nicely. If you’re contemplating buying anything from Apple, which side of that equation do you see yourself on?

1 user commented in " Rotten Apple "

tobyaw said,

in January 27th, 2009 at 23:19

Is this different from the behaviour of any other large technology company? Companies like IBM, Samsung and Canon file vast numbers of patents. Last year IBM became the first company to file 4,000 patents in a year, and earns about $1 billion a year for its trouble.

Yet all this anger directed at Apple for a patent which deals with a method of translating finger movements into scrolling or display transitions.

Its hard to buy a mainstream technological product that isn’t made by a company with a large US patent portfolio. Whatever one’s feelings about patents, isn’t it a little unfair to single out a relatively small player like Apple?