Palm responds to Apple's veiled threat: "we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves"
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jan 23rd 2009 6:57AM
posted Jan 23rd 2009 6:57AM
We've been waiting for this. Ever since Tim Cook made his non-specific, veiled threats in response to a direct question about how the Palm Pre "almost directly emulates the kind of touch interface" found on the iPhone, the entire tech community has waited for the next move. Now Lynn Fox, a Palm spokesperson has stepped into the fray. In a response given to Digital Daily and presumably crafted by a team of lawyers over the 2 days since the Apple analyst call, Lynn says the following: Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio, and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space. If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves.The gauntlet is thrown. Now, will Apple risk the ire of a million new and middle-aged fanboys and crush Palm's Cinderella comeback by forcing the Pre into some state of unreleased legal limbo? Or will Rubinstein and Jobs quietly sort it out over a yoghurt parfait in some strip mall in The Valley? Oh boy, this is going to be good.
You can't sue or patent everyday common things or patterns. Adidas has had trouble holding onto their 75 year old "logo" of three lines. 3 lines next to each other are a common thing. That is why they have slowly moved to the triangle logo with the stripes on the side. Trying to threaten because you think you invented a line of buttons at the bottom of the screen is ridiculous. This is like putting the bread on the top shelf and wanting to patten it. Apple -- you have become to big for your britches, and now are doing everything you ever accused Microsoft of. Take a hike. You are a fade at best. This message was written on a Mac....and I have to tell you.... the most over rated pile of crap ever.
That was the best rant I've heard on engadget for a while.
Thank you sir!
transws6am is my new hero
Beautiful.
I think I love you
I enjoy people taking apples slick UI and adding more functionality like MMS copy and paste. Sunny Skys ahead over the next few months maybe ill hold out on my upgrade :)
But if Palm really wanted to be a dick about it, they could say the iPhone "emulated" the Original Palm Pilot's and Treo's UI and touch interface. I can't see Apple having a real case.
that's hilarious. have palm sue apple for an design they already stole from the newton! go look up fingerworks. they hold a lot of the patents out there for multitouch and gestures. guess who bought fingerworks? that's right apple! palm as of right now has at least 10 former apple employees that have worked or had knowledge of the iphone. that alone is enough to win a lawsuit and have palm go broke during the process.
"we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves."
Copy and Paste this and forward it to bunny
"You know what else everybody likes? Parfaits. Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait"? Parfaits are delicious."
Parfait's gotta be the tastiest thing on the whole damn planet.
I don't like parfaits and I'm not even an ogre.
apple says palm will crack any minute purple monkey dishwasher
+1 awesome for Simpsons reference.
-1 internets for pointing references out.
I'm intrigued by your reference and would like to subscribe to your comments.
What is this "subsribe" you speak of.
hell yeah Palm nuthin like a big ole K.M.A. to apple to make my morning:)
I wonder if he meant "tools" as in executives and/or attorneys. Really what I'm hoping for is those giant American Gladiator battle Q-tips.
I think it's more likely it means that they have ways to go around Apple's patent claims
- they have a different technology
or
- they have a older patent conflicting with Apple's one
or
- they found a hole in Apple's patent description
What this really means is that Palm has patents in it's portfolio that can be applied to the iPhone. This is what "fundamental patents in the mobile space" is meant to imply. They're not threatening to defend themselves during Apple's court case, they're threatening a devastating counter suit.
True. I didn't think about that.
But I think the real point of Palm's statement is not to brag about it, but just to make Apple look bad by the eyes of the media and consumers if they try something now. Pay attention to the fact that Cook made a general comment, but Palm answered as it was directed to them, for no reason at all. Of course, if they are taking this bet, they must be really able to defend/countersuit them.
;)
Actually I think it means he was just being sarcastic and wants some good 'ol American Gladiator style fighting.
me, personally, I'm still trying to figure out how exactly Palm ripped off Apple here.
Yeah, it's not as if Palm is some new entrant into the market. Given how long they've been making touchscreen devices and smartphones, I imagine they have quite the portfolio of patents of their own. Hell the iPhone interface is basically a ripoff of the old PalmOS interface.
I doubt Apple has the testicular fortitude to risk the iPhone and take this to court. They're just trying to scare off Palm's investors.
There are levels of survival which they are prepared to accept.
"Given how long [Palm have] been making touchscreen devices and smartphones..."
...Which is just about a year or two shy of how long ago Apple made the Newton.
I'm guessing 'out-of-court undisclosed settlement' is the future of this one.
I would be cheaper for Apple just to buy PALM out than to go to court and sue them. They should do a hostile take over.
No.
im pretty sure apple is gonna give us MMS and copy paste in the 3.0, it would be foolish of them not to
It was "foolish" for them to release the iPhone 1.0 without such basic functionality. A 3-year old RAZR can do MMS!
I understand the problem that they have with cut-and-paste; Apple can't figure out how to do it in a way that's intuitive, without adding clutter to the UI. Still, they should have figured it out a lot sooner. They used the most obvious text-selection gesture, the reverse-pinch, for zooming. Now, to add cut-and-paste, they'll have to add a context-sensitive button to switch from zoom-mode to edit-mode, and they're just too lazy to do it.
Yes, if by basic functionality you mean multi-touch, a full internet browser, visual voicemail, visual call merge, Google Maps, and a widescreen Video iPod. Yes, the RAZR had all those things and more!!!
The iPhone doesn't have a WAP browser either! And every dumb cell phone has a crappy WAP browser! Why isn't anyone complaining about that? You have to send photos using e-mail on the iPhone, a modern standard? What the heck is wrong with Apple!!! They are SO behind the times!!!
Get MMS and a WAP browser already, Apple. No one wants e-mail and Safari Mobile!
Uh, yeah....
/sarcasm
Way to miss the point Paul. Nobody's saying that the things the iPhone came with aren't great.
But it's like building a vehicle with GPS and adaptive cruise control and rear cameras and all that fancy stuff and then forgetting to put wheels and a gas cap on it. MMS and Copy/paste have been _standard_ features on smartphones. MMS is standard on dumbphones, FFS! And saying that iPhones can send photos through email is pointless, as most phones are still incapable of using email (but almost every phone can handle MMS).
Being a fanboy must completely blind you to valid criticism of your object of worship, huh?
Every dumb phone has a WAP browser. Why aren't you complaining about the iPhone not having that? What's the difference? Oh, that's right, because Apple's Safari Mobile is BETTER than a WAP browser, just like e-mail is better than MMS.
As you can see, it's a matter of opinion on the value of MMS. Just because every other phone has it, doesn't automatically mean that Apple has to support it. Most phone have keyboards too. Apple chose to not copy other phones. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
It's very funny to me that people constantly complain because Apple doesn't try to be exactly like every other company.
/facepalm
Comparing the browser and the MMS app is completely different.
I was complaining about the lack of MMS because the whole point of a phone is to COMMUNICATE! And if your phone doesn't support one of the MAJOR methods of communication that EVERY other phone supports, then it's missing something. Once email is supported on almost all phones this point will be moot, but until then, they left out a major component.
You fanboys can be so irritating. I could sit here and praise the iPhone for everything else it does, and bring up just one criticism, and you'd lose your shit.
As to the whole "if you don't like it don't buy it" thing...I don't plan to buy it. That doesn't mean I can't complain about the lack of features that would entice me to buy it. Shit, I'd love for it to add these things. It'd be almost the perfect phone for me if it did. But no, just go ahead and stick your fingers in your ears and keep saying to yourself "la la la la perfect phone la la la la i can't here you la la la..."
@curtisrutland:
Paul's point was why we should add a feature when it's outdated and there's a better way to do it? MMS is for phones that don't have a sophisticated enough OS to handle real email. Email is the way to go--it can hold larger files, you can send attachments, you can type an unlimited number of words without getting charged more than once a message. The end result is similar: the receiver gets an image, a video, or an audio file, but using email to do it means that when you're not sending little clips of multimedia to a friend, real work can be as well. Just like Apple removed the floppy disk and the optical drives on their computers, Apple is not clinging on to old tech and hopefully other manufacturers will follow and create better phones that handle email, which in turn results a more sophisticated, full-featured OS that doesn't look like it was from the year 2000 *cough* Motorola *cough*.
@ Curtisrutland
While I think the copy and paste is vital for some (it doesn't matter to me though) I think that you comparison with the car is not correct.
MMS is after SMS the biggest rip-off of the provider.
By adding an email application integrated with the rest of the phone's features and giving the phone a very good web browser people no longer need MMS. You can send emails easily and for free (since it's integrated in the data plan). If Apple would add MMS to the iPhone I am pretty sure you would have to pay for these.
It's the same approach they had with the floppy drives a few years back. Everybody was shocked by the decision to drop floppy drives in Macs but at the end it's not about staying with old technologies but to evolve.
If you look back, SMS is nothing else than a very basic email, MMS added the capability of adding some limited media (attachments).
Email is the next logical step.
The ONLY reason people miss MMS is because they have friends/family who do not have email capabilities on their phones. If everyone had email on their mobile, would you still cry that the iPhone didnt support MMS? No, you would not because it would be dumb to send an MMS message and get charged rather than use email for free.
I dont get it. Shouldnt we be embracing the removal of antiquated protocols from our devices? I'm sure it is annoying when you want to send your friends with RAZRs a picture, but why not just suck it up, use the MMS gateway that ALL providers have (eg. 1234567890@tmomail.net) and GTFOI.
I can't believe how many people are satisfied to eliminate an avenue of communication in this day and age. I guess it speaks to social circles. If you're happy not having MMS, maybe it's because everyone you communicate with can receive email on their phone or contrary to what you may have told yourself to convince yourself you need a smartphone, you've realized that all your communications aren't so urgent and don't require immediate response.
@daPrinz
you all are missing the damned point. and he is right. Having the iphone without mms is like having a flying car with NO means to fly it. No sky highway no FAA approval no SUPPORT.
I do not give two sh(*s if E-mail is superior to MMS
NO ONE ELSE USES IT YOU MORONS !!!
so GREAT your all "high tech" with your e-mail pictures and your also ALONE with your e-mail pictures.
you see its still CHEAPER for most people to have unlimited texting for $10 a month than it is to have DATA PLANS for $25 to $60 a month !!
DUH!
so even is SOME (and ONLY smart phones REALLY have this ability) phones have e-mail many users will NOT USE IT because they do not want to fork over the cash for the ULTRA EXPENSIVE DATA PLANS
and even them MMS is just EASIER in the current forms that both mediums take.
MMS is INTEGRATED into the operation of the phone. its intuitive.
E-MAIL IS NOT is more like a desktop application.
I prefer e-mail. on the phone I prefer MMS. why? because thats what EVERYONE ELSE USES.
your e-mail is like having a flying car and going hey why you driving that ancient wheeled car around and I in my wheeled car just laugh at you as I DRIVE BY YOU and your STUCK in your driveway with no MEANS available to actually USE your flying car.
Sorry my house don't have a runway and neither does the other 90% of houses in the US.
THATS is how e-mail pictures compares to mms pictures.
NOW when 90% of the phones have e-mail integrated and intuitive to use
AND 90% of the plans out there have practical AFFORDABLE data plans
THEN and ONLY THEN will it make sense to switch to E-mail
Let me give you another example of the failing in your argument.
I am going to use an abacus and a slide rule
your going to use your laptop
which is superior? no brainer right
OH wait I forgot we are zipping back to 1804 and NOW we are going to do some work
which is superior now? yeah no brainer again. your laptop is a paperweight after 4 hours max.
Superior technology is irrelevant is you have no practical means with which to USE IT.
2 things need to happen before it makes sense to eliminate MMS and use E-Mail
#1 more phones need usable e-mail functionality
#2 affordable data plans need to be common place.
NEITHER of those is even remotely close to being in place yet so for now MMS is superior just because its USABLE in our environment.
Just like my abacus and slide rule will TROUNCE your laptop in 1804.
@mike
AT&T bounces back all emails with pictures sent to their mms.att.net address.
And I can semi-understand not supporting MMS, but for the love of God make it easier to see the picture that's sent to you. Having to write down a username / password and go look at it on a real computer (because AT&T uses flash to show the media) is REALLY annoying.
@ Paul. I understand your argument of why the iPhone's lack of MMS is a rational choice on Apple's part (I tend to agree that e-mail is much better, and I don't use MMS or SMS much at all, so I would prefer a strong e-mail client), but how can you defend the lack of copy and paste. Even if you don't feel you need it in your normal phone use, how can you defend such a lazy development that left out a feature so basic that it has been on PCs since, what, the 1980s, and on cell phones for about 10 years?
Isn't that what people are always bitching about Microsoft doing? I just want some competition and so far Palm seems to be the only one to combine the power of a true multitasking smartphone with a modern UI. So far you only get one or the other.
Palm - "we have the tools".
i see what you did here
We have the technology.
when does the feces-throwing start?
"Yoghurt" awesome....just awesome
It's just like "yogurt", only more painful for American's to read. The extra 'h' is for 'hurt'!
I hate ridiculous transliterations. Can't we all just get along?
as a first-gen iphone user, this would be the last straw for me. if they really sue palm for making a "better iphone", i'm done with the iphone for good.
People quickly forget how Apple also got hammer with patent law sue when the iPhone came out. Palm does have a cool phone but they also did copied a lot of the iphones IU and for that Apple is forced to do something otherwise share holders will
Yeah "robust patent portfolio". Just like that time Palm got sued for "Graffiti" and had to remove it from all of their devices thus leaving the users who took the time to learn their shitty proprietary input system, in the cold.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_(Palm_OS)#Lawsuit
I'll make sure to not hold this awful memory against you guys next time you want me to buy a product from you.
Graffiti was a great system... its one of the things I miss on my Treo; plus Graffiti 2 wasn't that different than 1 (though I was one of the folks who performed the Graffiti 1 hacks)
Whore-off!
Apple plays hardball for sure. A legal suit that delays the Pre would be looked down upon by engadgeters but even making Palm delay this thing 2-3 months would be a huge win for them since it will allow them to easily introduce their next generation of Iphone.
It would make a lot of publicity for the Pre anyway...
I assumed Jobs was sick of yoghurt parfias - that's the real reason for his leave.
Right now, both companies are just having a PR war -- their statements give us zero clue as to the true legal situation. Press releases have little to do with legal realities. It will be better for everyone if the Pre comes out w/o being screwed with by Apple. A better Pre will force Apple to make a better iPhone, and we all win with competition between these companies.
I think you just made the perfect summary!! No need for anything else to be said!
See, this is why I dislike Apple. From my point of view it seems as though they use their patents offensively suing (or threatening to sue) potential threats whereas other companies such as Palm only seem to use them defensively, preventing legal action and don't seem to mind casual infringements.
Like I said, my point of view and it may be far from the truth.
It is not about being liked. It is about being a business and being responsible to your shareholders. A protracted legal battle with Apple with Palm in the financial shape that it is in, would be devastating unless their position was leveraged by Microsoft, RIM, or the less likely Google to force Apple to use resources. This is not unlike the Psytar battle going on now. Where are they getting the money to conduct this campaign that many feel is clouded when the EULA is clear?
The point is, if you don't protect your patents you lose them. Apple has to.
@ benson "if you don't protect your patents you lose them"
This is simply NOT true. You are thinking of trademarks, where if you don't protect them, they can lose their distinctive character (the purpose of a trademark) and hence be lost as IP. While there is a laches defense for delay in bringing a patent suit, you have to delay bringing suit for a looooong time, and even then any loss of rights only applies to the specific infringer, not a total loss of rights, and it is not an automatic loss of rights anyway. Please don't speak as an authority on IP when you don't know what you are talking about.
Parfaits are very under rated.
Tim Cook had made no specifics about which company and rightly so when he made the comment. Even the original question involved Android. Why is Engadget stoking up fire as if Palm had copied Apple, which for an as yet released product, no one knows.
I thought the same - if Palm is an innocent as they pretend to be, why did they take Tim's statement so personally? Fishy, if you ask me.
Palm has it's place don't get me wrong, but trying to upgrade your interface by copying the best one out there? Low down, Palm. Put as much effort into being have as inventive as you say you are and then we'll see..
You are clueless.
Note: I am not making a direct claim about the poster named "humps." I have simply replied to a comment under his name.
I hope Palm can really stick it to em.
Hear hear.
Hear f'ing -hear-.
@neodorian
Apple as the fruit? Or the one that's stick out of your throat? I see none of them is suitable for that job.
No matter how much i love the iPhone im backing Palm all the way :)
I got 5 iphones (all working and I carry 3 of 'em in my pocket daily) and I still hope palm can stick it to them. I'll be getting a Pre when it comes out... too bad it'll prolly be end of this year for my market..
I think that although wanky US patent law might allow this, European law won't.
Adobe patented tabs. IBM patented hyperlinks... neither of which are enforcible, but software patents work differently here. I don't think Apple has a chance here, and any judge that rules in their favour is a fucking idiot who'll make the entire mobile device industry anti-competitive.
Here here Shig ! you can't patent a logical progression.
why is it always up to apple to make the logical progressions, though? just a thought.
Of course if Apple was dumb enough to actually pursue this Microsoft and HP will also jump into the mess. Apple will have quite a lot of trouble here considering the insane amount of prior art for multitouch. They just happen to be the first company to mainstream multitouch, but they did not (by any means) create the idea.
I suppose there's a lot going on behind the scenes that we don't see and won't ever see, mainly because a lot of it never gets to see the light of day.
Companies come out making these veiled warnings possibly based on strong insider hints, and in turn they make these sweeping statements of intent aimed at "no-one in particular".
What's for sure is that Palm (and pretty much all other wanna-be "iPhone killers" or is it cloners?) would now be taking a good long look at all the technologies employed in their upcoming handset offerings to avoid falling into the patent infringement trap that nearly crippled RIM and forced them into a heavy payout to continue operating.
Another thing is for sure: if the game-changing iPhone violated any existing handset manufacturers' patents, we would have heard no end of heavy-handed litigation from all corners by now. That suggests to me that the technologies and patents surrounding iPhone/iPod Touch technology are pretty solid, varied and defensible.
Hold on to your hats, tech-lovers...
Did Apple patented the icons (as a concept I mean)?
Or shall I say : iCons ? (as opposed to iPros)
I mean WTF apple ? Just because your fanboys think you actually invented the touchscreen doesn't mean it's true..
I've watch the Pre video and I can't say what palm ripped off from you ...
Your logic doesn't make sense.
People copying you force you to come up with different and better ideas. Competition breeds innovation.
oops, replied to wrong post.
fight fight fight !!!
I don't understand how people who like gadgets can condone patent theft. If you want cool gadgets, you have to make it worth people's while to develop gadgets. Companies assemble teams of clever people who come up great technology that all of us use. You might not like the iPhone but no doubt there are other products you do like. If everyone could go around making money off stealing other people's ideas, those who develop the ideas themselves wouldn't be rewarded for their work and the ideas would dry up. Meaning none of us would get cool products.
I don't know if Palm did steal Apple technology. It certainly seems so looking at their product. But hopefully we all agree that if a court decides that they did, Palm should be punished. Otherwise, innovation is doomed.
The last thing I want is a world ruled by a phone that can't even do MMS or copy-paste.
It would be quite funny if Palm presents an older patent that nullifies Apple's claims.
No, as a lover of gadgets what I hate is that companies patent every little aspect of their devices and in such a broad way that anything that resembles or might somehow be influenced by them is grounds for a lawsuit. It's stifling creativity and just bad for the consumer. It's not that I hate the iPhone at all. iPhone is a great device and I really wish I could get one but it is missing some of the functionality I need daily. So here comes Palm who thinks "hey, people really like having a touch screen device with fast hardware but maybe we can add multitasking and QWERTY for those not being served by the iPhone".
Everything is influenced in some way by that which comes before it but that does not make everything a ripoff or patent violation. This crap is getting way too common and it has nothing to do with Apple in particular.
What kills me the most is that Apple is claiming a patent infringement for multi-touch. Microsoft Surface developed this first for desktop technology. Apple stole the idea and put it on a mobile device. Now they claim their innovative technology is being stolen by Palm. It might be all true legally, it just shows how shrewd Apple can be. Actually reading more about this, it's not about the platform but Apple claims that it has Apple gestures like pinching. So now we can't officially pinch on anything except on an Apple product. What next the Apple Pinching Police?
Isn't Nintendo's multi touch patent for a possible DS2 even older than Apple's (or Microsoft's)?
the DS is not a mobile phone, but if they can reduce the definition to mobile device, it can put all this fight down through the sink even before it starts.
Im kind of sad for the guy who first tought about multi-touch, told his boss and got no money...
Apple own FingerWorks, who pioneered multi-touch, long before Microsoft. Apple also has loads of patents from its Newton product (1993-1998), on which many of the ideas behind the Palm OS were based.
By "tools", they mean "lawyers" :-)
OMG, This is unreal.
I dont think this is what they meant at all.
Look a the iPhone CLONES (meaning utter hardware AND software clones)
These are obvious targets.
Palms take on a touch UI is not new, nor is it a copy if Apples iPhone UI.
Both om them uses a BSD type OS in the bakground.
I think that both can draw inspiration from each other and thrive equally without IP disputes.
I like the New Pre and yes I have an iPhone.
I would like if Apple released a FW that enables other apps to multitask and that they did it in an Apple way and not copying Palms Pre way of doing it.
We should all remember that Palm has been in the phone arena way longer than Apple has, the Pre is not their second phone, as the iphone 3G is for Apple.
I am sure most Patent disputes here if there where to be any, will end up in settlement rather then law suits as both with benefit from this.
Companies makes patent for two large reasons, either to prevent someone else from using what you want to use or to inhibit them from using it even if you are not going to. (then there are standards patents and such of course)
apple stole unix how they dare to accuse ??!!!!
Palm's response means that if they get sued, they'll counter-sue Apple because Palm's got a portfolio of patents to throw back at Apple for all sorts of phone-related technology.
But the question is, does Palm have the money and the ability to fend off a lawsuit with their stock price so low? Apple just needs one injunction to basically sink Palm's stock price and earnings, starving it from even making it to a trial.
Law rarely is about "who is right," fairness, or justice. It is about what you can prove (or not prove). There is a big difference between the two ...
I'd say that Palm can carry on a legal fight. If we are looking about Palm's ability to fund a lawsuit, many other firms on less-stable financial grounds have sued when they should have KNOWN they were going to lose the legal battle--ah..look to the "unix" battles between SCO, IBM, ...
The potential, not likely, legal battle between Apple and Palm is not "clear cut" like the SCO lawsuit, and SCO found a way to "fund" their fight.
Again, I see no win here for Apple if they sue Palm. In my opinion (see that Apple attorney?), Apple's suing would make them look like the RIAA or MPAA rather than just a firm protecting their IP. Remember, the RIAA and the MPAA had the law on their side, and I, for one, am not sure what IP either firm owns that could justify their position.
Anyone else have a functional crystal ball? Mine seems to look like a black 8-ball...
If Apple would or could sue they would have by now so SHUT UP.
Yeah, like Apple created touch-based OSs (and the mouse, the GUI found on today's computers and, oh yeah, the backbone of their current OS)....
As they've shown, if you're going to steal (sorry, reverse-engineer) at least do it with chutzpah.
As Apple doesn't use the touch-based interface on any other of their OSX-based devices, one assumes they might assume they 'borrowed' or bought it in - or had creative types who may have abandoned Apple in favour of the competition develop it. But does that mean they 'own' all further OS GUIs that use such eye candy and can get all hissy if others do what they do?
Palm meanwhile needs to show that their devices are about more than just slick visual effects and offers a stable OS that resides in a quality phone - and that's a bigger issue for them, if history is anything to go by.
You appear to have forgotten (or don't know about) Apple's Newton MessagePad (1993-1998), that Mac OS (including Mac OS X) has had support for pen tablets for many many years (even though Apple don't sell their own tablets), and that they own FingerWorks (who did most of the pioneering work on multi-touch).
@Genius Bartender: Not really. I don't see where Palm ripped off Apple... rather the other way round. You might as well patent the car. As in four wheels, a steering wheel, engine at the front and two seats in the first row and three in the second. Oh, and suspension of course. Now any company who wants to build something like that gets sued. That would be horrible. While I don't support direct ripping off, it is necessary that companies may improve on the work of other companies so that there is a variety of products, and products can actually improve.
They're just trying to confuse consumers and investors, their biggest backers. "Out of sight, out of mind". There's a lot of idiot's out there. Now comes the crash and burn of apple, grand opening, grand closing.
I'd commented on separate article how Apple is the second coming of Microsoft and here we are. To be fair, Apple has been bullying companies with their army of lawyers as far back as I can remember.
While I'm all for protecting IP, Apple's history of legal intimidation to stifle competition is just plain wong. I'm surprised that DOJ has not taken Apple to task like they did with Microsoft. Is there some sort of petition I can sign? If not, I would love to start one. Of course Apple will also sue me. But I also have "big tool" to protect myself.
PS Hey all you law firms that love class action; with Apple's current wealth, I'm sure you can create myriad excuses to go after them. Apple should get a taste of its own medicine.
Apple didn't 'steal' Unix. Apple used something legally that was open source. Theres nothing wrong with that.