Apple Sued by Microsoft Co-Founder

[Michael Essany]

Apple is involved in yet another lawsuit. I know. Shocker, isn't it?

This time, though, the suit involves another "big boy" in the tech business. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is suing Apple (and eleven companies overall) regarding patent infringements. Allen says the likes of Apple and Google are out of line and blatantly violated his patents involving online recommendation algorithms.

The technology in question was supposedly developed by Allen some ten years ago in a $100 million lab/technology incubator (that no longer exists) called Silicon Valley laboratory Interval Research Corp. It turns out that Allen still holds a number of patents that resulted from the venture. And those are precisely the patents (e-commerce and Internet search-related) that other companies are now allegedly infringing upon.

"The lab worked on numerous projects, with goals to create technology to use in Mr. Allen's ventures in telecom," the WSJ noted. "In later days it also focused on developing technology to license to others. Over the course of a decade, Interval was issued 300 patents. It successfully marketed some of its patent portfolio, including cellular voice processing technology and motion-detection technology used in games that allows a computer to 'see' commands. It also created a 'smart' toy called 'Red Beard's Pirate Quest' and later sold the technology behind it to Lego Group."

Along with Apple and Google, other companies named in the suit include AOL, eBay, FaceBook, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo and YouTube. Microsoft itself, however, is not involved.

Wall Street Journal

[maddawg05]

You can't do anything w/o "infringing" in someone's patent.

[Thev0rtex]

Every one steals patents, it's not really anything new.

[ownerofspam]

Maybe the MMi community should make a whole bunch of patents just to have them, then sue apple ourselves when they "steal" them.

[nautical79]

messany can you be more especific on the subjet,what pattent is apple using exactly.

[Shishir G]

Maybe the MMi community should make a whole bunch of patents just to have them, then sue apple ourselves when they "steal" them.

You moron, you can't just say I CREATED SOMETHING ITS MINE, NO ONE CAN STEAL IT!!!!
you have to fill out tons of forms, go to the government, pay them, then it MIGHT be patented, but it can be denied.
MMi LIVES on apple, what the hell is the point of suing them?

[Tenspeed123]

You moron, you can't just say I CREATED SOMETHING ITS MINE, NO ONE CAN STEAL IT!!!!
you have to fill out tons of forms, go to the government, pay them, then it MIGHT be patented, but it can be denied.
MMi LIVES on apple, what the hell is the point of suing them?

Dude. Learn to take a joke.

[primalscream.40]

That's what's wrong with the world this day an time. Everybody sues over stupid crap

[Markanthony3211]

This is why companies can't evolve, if your not going to do anything with the Patent then someone else will! *Sheesh!*

[yahoowizard]

Well, from a patenter standpoint, it sucks. I mean, let's say you fricking create the cure to cancer. With this, you patent it so that only you can sell it, as you were the one who put all your life's work into it. After you put it out, make some profits, another company starts selling the cure too, at which point, you're p.o'd, because all he did was copy your idea and he's making huge profits because he's probably selling it at a lower price. It mostly just takes away all the hard work you did. Same with the co-founder guy, I guess, working in a 100 million dollar lab for years developing ****, then having people just take it later on without any permission. I tend to take patents pretty seriously at times, since it really does suck for the person who patents things.

[3dguymwm]

I doubt Paul Allen ever did anything first, he's always rode on someone else's successes.

[Luppin]

I doubt Paul Allen ever did anything first, he's always rode on someone else's successes.

Do you even know who Paul Allen is? He is just as much responsible for Microsoft as Bill Gates is, Bill Gates is just much much much more public. It could be argued that without Paul Allen we wouldn't be posting on this forum at all.

[zozodouce]

Paul better watch out. I'm pretty sure Apple patented suing lol.

[gafu]

Well, from a patenter standpoint, it sucks. I mean, let's say you fricking create the cure to cancer. With this, you patent it so that only you can sell it, as you were the one who put all your life's work into it. After you put it out, make some profits, another company starts selling the cure too, at which point, you're p.o'd, because all he did was copy your idea and he's making huge profits because he's probably selling it at a lower price. It mostly just takes away all the hard work you did. Same with the co-founder guy, I guess, working in a 100 million dollar lab for years developing ****, then having people just take it later on without any permission. I tend to take patents pretty seriously at times, since it really does suck for the person who patents things.

If I created a cure for cancer,it'd be free....there's no price on life

[reanimationxp]

If I created a cure for cancer,it'd be free....there's no price on life

Yea and if you told anyone about it you'd be snuffed and it'd be hidden away in a vault somewhere.

[hitman10]

Thank you Sir Fredrick Banting and Charles Herbert Best for putting no price on life, other wise I wouldn't be here.

[unison999]

Time for Apple to get a taste of its own medicine, finally someone big enough to see things through.

[Tyronal]

Time for Apple to get a taste of its own medicine, finally someone big enough to see things through.

And AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, and YouTube and Microsoft, oh wait, they're not on the list of companies being sued. Hmmm. Wouldn't he make more money from suing Microsoft? Microsoft are the champions of stealing code, but this time doesn't count does it? Why aren't they being sued too? Just typical of microsuck to get others to do their dirty work. You can read a response from facebook here. http://www.techflash.com/mobile/seat...l_patents.html

M$ must be worried they're not getting any attention. When google chrome os comes out, they will suffer. Good.

messany can you be more especific on the subjet,what pattent is apple using exactly.

The suit alleges that the companies violate a patent for a “Browser for use in navigating a body of information, with particular application to browsing information represented by audiovisual data” .

I believe this is a pretty broad range of uses inside a browser. Funny that companies sue even though the patients have been infringed for years but they go to court when they're financially challenged.

[alexevo]

Paul better watch out. I'm pretty sure Apple patented suing lol.

haha zing!!

Couple things to address. If Allen holds the patents then he gets to sue. Example: If you thought of the idea first, then you should have patented it before he did.

That being said, I side with Allen on this one as I would definitely wait for the infringing companies to make a lot of money first before suing. The whole point of suing is to make money on the deal unless he was actually going for an injunction to stop them from providing the software any more. He isn't doing that because a judge likely won't bar them from using the software but will very likely award a small fortune to Allen since he holds the patents.

We already know why he isn't suing his alma mater, Microsoft. It is a given that you sue the company that made you most of your money. Furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised if he still gets kickbacks, royalties, or whatever you call it from Microsoft aside from the money he also makes when his Microsoft stock goes up. They are his patents and he has the right to sue whomever he wants which brings me to my next point on another company he is not suing even though he never worked for them, they don't pay him, and they are still essentially infringing on his patents.

The next point. Notice that Mozilla(creator of Firefox, Thunderbird, etc. for those of you that weren't aware) is NOT on the list. The owner of Mozilla Corporation(a for-profit organization) is Mozilla Foundation(a non-profit organization). It has been speculated that because Mozilla generally is a non-profit organization that Allen chooses not to pursue litigation against them for this reason.

So there is something to chew on guys. Allen did the leg work and got the patents therefore he gets the spoils. It is the law and you don't have to like it but you have to abide by it.

[Tyronal]

haha zing!!

Couple things to address. If Allen holds the patents then he gets to sue. Example: If you thought of the idea first, then you should have patented it before he did.

That being said, I side with Allen on this one as I would definitely wait for the infringing companies to make a lot of money first before suing. The whole point of suing is to make money on the deal unless he was actually going for an injunction to stop them from providing the software any more. He isn't doing that because a judge likely won't bar them from using the software but will very likely award a small fortune to Allen since he holds the patents.

We already know why he isn't suing his alma mater, Microsoft. It is a given that you sue the company that made you most of your money. Furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised if he still gets kickbacks, royalties, or whatever you call it from Microsoft aside from the money he also makes when his Microsoft stock goes up. They are his patents and he has the right to sue whomever he wants which brings me to my next point on another company he is not suing even though he never worked for them, they don't pay him, and they are still essentially infringing on his patents.

The next point. Notice that Mozilla(creator of Firefox, Thunderbird, etc. for those of you that weren't aware) is NOT on the list. The owner of Mozilla Corporation(a for-profit organization) is Mozilla Foundation(a non-profit organization). It has been speculated that because Mozilla generally is a non-profit organization that Allen chooses not to pursue litigation against them for this reason.

So there is something to chew on guys. Allen did the leg work and got the patents therefore he gets the spoils. It is the law and you don't have to like it but you have to abide by it.

These patient suits are stupid. Someone has an idea, files a patent but never implements it. This kind of games play will see innovation grind to a halt, and if every idea was shelved waiting for someone to sue for picking it up, the IT world will go into a coma. Interval Research had no idea how to build a commercial product and no intention to build a commercial product. It was simply a vehicle to create paper, unimplementable patents. Those who have the ability to implement it, do, then get sued. If they didn't, then we wouldn't get the benefit of using them. The law should be, you have an idea, patent it with express rules that it needs to be implemented within 5 years of patient. Otherwise innovation will be controlled by lawyers. "The first thing we do, is kill all the lawyers." (Shakespeare's Henry VI)