I wonder if Apple is beginning to regret its world-wide war on Android and Samsung? After all, Apple’s just been hit in the chops by a German court injunction that blocks the sale of all iPhones and iPads in the European Union.
In yet another chapter in the mobile patent wars, this time around Android-power Motorola Mobility, soon to belong to Google, used a patent to smash the competition. Considering how Apple is using design and software patents to try to crush its rivals, I have to say I don’t think it could happen to a nicer company.
That said, the patent in question, Method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system is another perfect of a stupid software patent. Just like Apple is trying to block anyone from creating a phone or tablet that’s rectangular in shape because it would breech their “unique” designs, this bit of intellectual property (IP) blackmail material has nothing unique about it.
Read U.S. Patent No. 6,359,898 and its European Union equivalent, EP1010336 (B1) ? 2003-03-19 for yourself. It describes a way to perform a countdown function over a 3G connection. You know, “Ten seconds to complete your download, three, two, one, download complete.”
Oh yeah, that’s a unique idea alright.