Apple Requesting Potential Motorola Bond of Up to $16 Billion in German Patent Case

Microsoft in their worst day was never as disgusting as Apple had been lately (downrate if your a fanboy).

Apple is not a convicted monopoly abuser.

Apple has to actually reach *this* level:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was called "evasive and nonresponsive" by a source present at a session in which Gates was questioned on his deposition.[2] He argued over the definitions of words such as "compete", "concerned", "ask", and "we".[3] BusinessWeek reported, "Early rounds of his deposition show him offering obfuscatory answers and saying 'I don't recall' so many times that even the presiding judge had to chuckle.

Worse, many of the technology chief's denials and pleas of ignorance have been directly refuted by prosecutors with snippets of E-mail Gates both sent and received."[4] Intel Vice-President Steven McGeady, called as a witness, quoted Paul Maritz, a senior Microsoft vice president as having stated an intention to "extinguish" and "smother" rival Netscape Communications Corporation and to "cut off Netscape's air supply" by giving away a clone of Netscape's flagship product for free. The Microsoft executive denied the allegations.[5]

A number of videotapes were submitted as evidence by Microsoft during the trial, including one that demonstrated that removing Internet Explorer from Microsoft Windows caused slowdowns and malfunctions in Windows.

In the videotaped demonstration of what Microsoft vice president James Allchin's stated to be a seamless segment filmed on one PC, the plaintiff noticed that some icons mysteriously disappear and reappear on the PC's desktop, suggesting that the effects might have been falsified.[6] Allchin admitted that the blame for the tape problems lay with some of his staff "They ended up filming it -- grabbing the wrong screen shot," he said of the incident.

Later, Allchin re-ran the demonstration and provided a new videotape, but in so doing Microsoft dropped the claim that Windows is slowed down when Internet Explorer is removed. Mark Murray, a Microsoft spokesperson, berated the government attorneys for "nitpicking on issues like video production."[7] Microsoft submitted a second inaccurate videotape into evidence later the same month as the first. The issue in question was how easy or hard it was for America Online users to download and install Netscape Navigator onto a Windows PC. Microsoft's videotape showed the process as being quick and easy, resulting in the Netscape icon appearing on the user's desktop.

The government produced its own videotape of the same process, revealing that Microsoft's videotape had conveniently removed a long and complex part of the procedure and that the Netscape icon was not placed on the desktop, requiring a user to search for it. Brad Chase, a Microsoft vice president, verified the government's tape and conceded that Microsoft's own tape was falsified.[8]

Abuse of monopoly, lying (or perjury, provided they were under oath), presenting false evidence in court, etc.

Sorry. Apple is *nothing* like Microsoft. Nothing they've done to date even approaches that.

Microsoft in their worst day was never as disgusting as Apple had been lately (downrate if your a fanboy).

Downrated because you're wrong. Good enough?

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Yeah, reputation doesn't exist.

Apple doesnt have a case, they'll lose time, money on their new team of lawyers, etc.

All Apple need is continued consumer mindshare. And these legal activities will have the same effect on sales of Apple gear as they've always had: zero. The last thing the consumer gives a damn about is Apple's legal activities. They just want the next iPad and iPhone. Thats's what the game is about. There are no other considerations involved.

"No, son/dear, you can't have that iPad this Christmas because Apple is being mean in court." LOL if you think this scenario has any basis in reality you need your head checked. The average consumer doesn't think that way, not even remotely, and never will. No matter how much this Apple vs. Samsung business gets reported, it a) won't help Samsung sell a product that no one really wants, and b) won't register with the consumer to any substantial degree.

Get real. This isn't the United States vs. Microsoft. It's some shady Korean appliance-maker (https://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=13394128&postcount=26) vs. Apple.

No one really cares except for the litigants.

:rolleyes: That is just beyond pathetic of apple.

Not at all. If Motorola wins it could stop sales of the affected Apple products. Generally when an appeal is filed it doesn't lift the sales ban until the case is heard, which could take years of back and forth filings etc.

And what Apple has asked for is within what local law allows and is deemed SOP for such cases.

Now if Motorola wins and they don't demand a sales ban, or if Apple doesn't win the appeals, no money changes hands because Apple was never blocked from selling and making their money that way.

Apple is becoming the very thing it fought against in 1984.

Great pity, because their arrogance in recent years is astounding.

Oh, balderdash. They have a business model. There is a body of patent law. They have the patents to defend. Legal contents are a kind of ritual combat, it's true. Google gives its OS for free to anyone, which encourages everyone to copy Apple in such a way that they are coasting on the years of work that Apple did developing a brand-new platform.

This is not "Big Brother," this is good old capitalistic competition in the legal system. If they weren't copying, then they will win and Apple will have delayed them slightly and imposed a cost that the Google gambit freed them from: either writing their own OS or paying for licensing.

All they have to do is create something new.

Maybe the patent and trademark laws need changing, but playing tennis without a net as you seem to propose isn't the answer for protecting innovation.

:rolleyes: That is just beyond pathetic of apple.

I can see the fanboys are downrating this even though they know it's true.

You don't think an iCloud ban in Germany would cost Apple $2-3B per year in lost business? Do you have an alternate sum in mind?

I'm not really sure why anyone is outraged to be honest. My wife works with lawyers and they want to win so they do everything legally allowable. I'm quite certain no company ever tells their lawyers, "we don't really want to win so don't try too hard."

Apple is all wrong ?!!!!???!!

So, when Apple starts a litigation against thoses who may have allegedly infringed on their IP, people scream "Apple is a B!tch.......!!..." and when it is defending itself from others who file a litigation against Apple, people still scream "Apple is a B!tch.......!!.."? So seems like Apple is in a no win situation :confused::)

This is beyond pathetic. Instead of fighting their competition on the market, where they should, they're fighting them in the courtroom! Cowardly, to say the least. Why the hell aren't they fighting all those Asian knock offs as hard as they're fighting Samsung, HTC, Motorola...?
Apple, I knew you were a bitch, but you've just reached an all time low.
[/RANT]

You don't seem to understand Motorola is taking action against apple here and not the other way around.

I don't know what scares me more, how many posts in this thread ranting showing a complete lack of understanding or the fact that 75% of the posters are on my ignore which means the overboard ignorance here is magnitudes worse then I even see.

Once again this is Motorola taking action versus apple. Please at least try to absorb and learn and understand at least the very basics before ranting.

Man, I like Apple products as much as the next guy here, but this is seriously getting out of hand. Stuff like this is way, way beyond reasonable. It's disgusting, in fact. If and when Apple keeps acting so arrogant, I don't know if I'll be able to ethically justify supporting them anymore. I'm holding off any product buying decisions until they rethink what they're doing and decide to act reasonably again.

I am amazed that people accuse Apple fanboys of being illogical and irrational in their love of all things Apple. Apple's critics are just as bad. All I have seen on this thread is, "Apple is worse than Microsoft" or "They're so arrogant." Not one person has backed it up with some logical argument. What is so bad about what Apple is doing?

16 BILLION?

That makes Microsoft look like an angel even with THEIR history.

Absolutely disgusting. I'd say Apple's 1984 commercial was ironic, but thats a massive understatement.

There is another side to this: Motorola, who had the lead in processors at one time and dropped it pathetically, who was once a leader in mobile phones and lost that as well, a company that is going to be sold to Google, one of Apple's biggest competitors, and especially a competitor in the cloud business, drags out some patents and wants to stop Apple from entering the cloud business in Germany until a court case is decided, which could take until 2018. That is of course not disgusting, right? And the plan is of course that Motorola does the damage, gets sold off, and when Apple wins the court case there is nobody left to pay for damages.

16 BILLION?

That makes Microsoft look like an angel even with THEIR history.

Absolutely disgusting. I'd say Apple's 1984 commercial was ironic, but thats a massive understatement.

What do you think is the likely annual loss to Apple if iCloud gets shut down in Germany? I take it you think it's a a lot less than $3B, but what is your valuation?