utah couple suing apple

[stefan]

okay ... is it just me or is this utah couple for real?

can an idea like this really be patented? i mean, isn't there a clause that says, if an idea is utterly obvious it can't be patented? :haha:


LINK (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/02/20/apple_starbucks_sued_over_custom_music_gift_cards. html)

[Iceaxe]

I know some of this sounds stupid... but....

Looks like it's for real and that Apple knows they are skating on thin ice, which is the reason Apple orginally pulled the cards from the US.

If the concept was being used "before" someone applied for a patent then its considered in the public domain and can not be patented. A few years back some guy tried to patent the fork and spoon, but was rejected because both items were alreay considered to be in the public domain.

Some of the old patent wars can be really interesting.... Kleenx and Asprian lost their names because they did not defend them when others started to use the name. By the time they attempted to gain control of the names the judge considered them public domain.

Anyhoo.... patents can be interesting stuff....

[stefan]

yeah, that makes sense

[sparker1]

I hope they beat Apple on this. Have you ever seen such arrogance from a company with such a small market share?

[Iceaxe]

The one thing I do like about Apple is they are a US company and they keep knocking the snot out of the Japanese companies..... I mean really... by all rights the iPod and iPhone should have come from Japanese companies, most notable they should have come from Sony. Sony took their fantastic Walkman idea and dropped the ball when it came time to switch to MP3's.

If Apple would stop being so damn arrogant they would really produce.

:flag:

[trackrunner]

by all rights the iPod and iPhone should have come from Japanese companies, most notable they should have come from Sony. Sony took their fantastic Walkman idea and dropped the ball when it came time to switch to MP3's.
:flag:
QFE&T

Think about it Sony was on the cutting edge of technology even has its own music library to compete with itunes. What have they done? Has anyone really heard of or seen their answer to the MP3 player. Apparently they have one.