HTC Faces Possible Import Ban This December; Google's Android Could Be Next

[dgstorm]

Although Samsung scored a victory against Apple's lawsuits recently, things are looking grim for HTC, and in fact, if things get worse, it could have far reaching consequences for Android in general. In July, an ITC administrative law judge ruled that HTC was in violation of two of Apple's patents. HTC appealed the decision, and that appeal (which was originally scheduled to be heard today, December 6th) will be heard on December 14th. If the judge rules in Apple's favor, it could have dire ramifications.

What makes this situation so important is the particular patents that are being infringed upon. These patents are at the very core of Android OS design. For reference, here are the patents:

• U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647 on a "system and method for performing an action on a structure in computer-generated data" (in its complaint, Apple provides examples such as the recognition of "phone numbers, post-office addresses and dates" and the ability to perform "related actions with that data"; one example is that "the system may receive data that includes a phone number, highlight it for a user, and then, in response to a user's interaction with the highlighted text, offer the user the choice of making a phone call to the number")
• U.S. Patent No. 6,343,263 on a "real-time signal processing system for serially transmitted data" (while this sounds like a pure hardware patent, there are various references in it to logical connections, drivers, programs; in its complaint, Apple said that this patent "relates generally to providing programming abstraction layers for real-time processing applications")

The problem is, because these patents are so broad and general, if HTC ends up having infringed upon them, then so has every other manufacturer that uses Android. Here's a statement from FOSS Patent's, Florian Mueller that he wrote after last summer's ruling,

"Google's Android mobile operating system is in serious trouble. It's hard to see how any Android device could not infringe [the patents], or how companies could work around them."

The worst case scenario for HTC is that their Android products could be banned from import just before the holiday season here in the United States, and Apple could then take HTC to a separate court system to sue for monetary damages. Of course, they could opt to license their patents to HTC , but that hasn't exactly been their behavior in the past. Ultimately, a defeat for HTC could mean Apple would be going after Google directly to halt the Android operating system entirely.

Thanks to our tipster in the forums, Zathus!

Source: CNNMoney and FossPatents

 

[CJLee89]

Is it me or does Apple seem intimidated by Android? All these patents are silly nonsense and directed towards Android software!:angry:

 

[sbenson]

Total intimidation. Just give me my damn Nexus before crap hits the fan.

 

[Chizzele]

That is a big woopsi

 

[Dusty]

If Apple ever got Android banned...
I'd just go buy a Windows Phone. Period.

Itunes, QuickTime, and Apple's environment are not features, sorry.

In a side note... I just heard that Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on the Nexus!

 

[OneTenderRebel]

We already had a good discussion going about this in another thread but this is really a result of a patent system gone terribly wrong. If the judge's are smart they will rule Apple shouldn't have these patents in the first place. But so long as they have the patents they are free and entitles to sue or try to get people to buy licenses for their patents. You guys can hate Apple for this all you want but they are not the problem here.....

 

[CJLee89]

If Apple ever got Android banned...
I'd just go buy a Windows Phone. Period.

Itunes, QuickTime, and Apple's environment are not features, sorry.

I use iTunes just because I have an iPod. Call me a trader but iTunes organizes music very well without any user interaction! I don't have to worry about keeping everything organized.

But for phones...I will leave the iPhone for people who don't like customization. Android all the way!

 

[dtdlurch]

How can these be real patents? If every company in the world operated like this, we wouldn't have ANYTHING. Using this logic, a TV producing company could patent something like a "system to project images onto a screen". Then, they could go after other TV companies, monitor producers, cell phones, etc.

I am pretty sure Blackberry and Windows Phones use the same functionality in these patents, as non-specific as they are stated. This can't possibly be serious.....

 

[dutchbastard]

That first patent describes something that happenes automaticallly on websites unless I understand it wrong. If I add "mailto" before writing a mail address in an html document it turns it into a link that will when clicked on open the visitors email program.

Isn't this exactly the same?
How was apple able to patent such a script?

Sent from my DROID Pro using DroidForums

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

General patents are stupid. That's like someone patenting the idea behind the computer. Just dumb.

 

[gtofan350]

I will not use iTunes for my music, even on my macbook I use the Zune software.

 

[ablank]

That's ridiculous. I think apple just needs to accept the fact that open source software is going to win out the mobile market because of each person wants something different and they aren't offering that. They need to step off on the patents and try compete with the Android OS fairly.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums

 

[screaminz2002]

I just filed my patent for putting the letters of the alphabet together to form words... unless the world pays... 1 billion dollars *evil laugh*

View attachment 43237

 

[ablank]

"like"

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums

 

[Trapper31]

This patent was filed in 1996 (and granted in 1999). So, this technology was developed during the time of Mac OS 7 and a solid 10 years before an iPhone ever existed...

Google Patents