Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
HTC Delays Evo 4G LTE Launch as U.S. Customs Investigates Shipments for Breach of Apple Patent
Last December, Apple won a U.S. International Trade Commission case against HTC, with the agency ruling that several of HTC's handsets infringed upon a pair of Apple-held patents. The agency's ruling included a ban on the import of infringing devices beginning in April, although HTC quickly responded to say that it had already designed a workaround for the issue in question.
But as reported by The Verge late yesterday, U.S. Customs officials have delayed shipments of HTC's new One X and Evo 4G LTE handsets into the United States as it investigates whether those handsets also infringe upon Apple's patents.
We've learned today that the One X and Evo 4G LTE are indefinitely delayed at Customs as the agency investigates patent issues with Apple, and sources have further confirmed that some shipments are indeed being held back. The One X is also currently out of stock at AT&T's online store and at most AT&T retail stores we've called — and few had any information on when more units would arrive.HTC issued a follow-up statement confirming the customs hold and indicating that it is working to secure the release of the shipments.
The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC Evo 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.Dow Jones Newswires provides more information today, noting that HTC will need to delay the launch of the Evo 4G LTE, which had been scheduled to debut on Sprint this Friday, May 18. In addition, AT&T is experiencing shortages of the One X due to the customs hold, although some units were able to enter the country before the import ban went into effect on April 19.
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95 months ago
The famous words spoken by Steve Jobs "and boy have we patented it" referring to the original iPhone back in 2007 have all but been forgotten by everyone in this industry.
95 months ago
While it may seem like that, and Apple remains the biggest company in the world you still need to respect their patents.
The patents in this case are as trivial as it gets. They should not have been granted in the first place.
I have a background in software development, technical writing and networking, so I actually am a person that should feel protected by IP laws. But I live and work in the real world, and all I can say is that it is my firm belief that the entire patent and copyright system is a perversion that is only there for the benefit of large corporations and especially software patents should be abolished yesterday.
95 months ago
I don't see how it's inaccurate. Maybe instead of being snarky you can contribute to the conversation.
A better analogy would be:
Apple builds a house and moves in.
HTC builds a house next-door which is different in almost every way. Except they used some very similar tiles in the downstairs bathroom.
So instead of accepting that there really isn't that much difference between any set of blue tiles. Apple tells its lawyers to sue HTC and keep them from moving into their house until they pull up the tiles in the bathroom and replace them with tiles that Apple thinks are different enough.
This is a much better analogy of what is actually going on here.
95 months ago
Advertisements? Have you ever even used one?
Copy everything? HTC has came up with so many original hardware designs over the past several years. I believe they were the first with a unibody phone with the Legend. They are also known to have tried different hinges for their hard keyboard phones. They are all about innovation.
Their HTC Sense UI especially seems to be quite appreciated by the industry.
95 months ago
I don't understand the people complaining about IP violations.
Imagine if you built a house for yourself from the ground up, nail by nail, brick by brick. On the day you're finished someone grabs the keys from you and moves in. So you've done all the work, and someone els reaps all the benefits.
Fair? No. That's why IP protections exist.
Yes this is an accurate analogy :rolleyes:
95 months ago
In the past when apple has been sued over software patents (like iTunes for example).
Apple fan-boys have been very quick to de-cry the bs nature of software patents.
And software patents certainly are bad for business and innovation. They discourage innovation instead of stagnation because if the GUI is a patented than the first company/person to invent it doesn't need to worry about someone else selling a comparable product...
You see, there is the problem right there: Only big companies with large legal departments and sufficient funding for them can afford those legal battles. It does not matter if you own a patent. It only matters if you have the money to start the legal battle. If you violate some small company's patent that does have the funding to defend its patent, nobody will stop you. That's the dirty game companies like Apple and Oracle play.
95 months ago
HTC's slogan, "Quietly Brilliant", is very false. They spam us with advertisements and copy everything (not just from Apple).
Advertisements? Have you ever even used one?
Copy everything? HTC has came up with so many original hardware designs over the past several years. I believe they were the first with a unibody phone with the Legend. They are also known to have tried different hinges for their hard keyboard phones. They are all about innovation.
The moron who spilled her coffee was able to sue McDonalds and get money easily. A small company with a good reason could beat a large company in a lawsuit.
Read about the case, it is not as moronic as you think it is.
95 months ago
Wonder what the people cheering for this news will say if the iPhone gets held up at customs following an ITC ruling against Apple :
http://www.slashgear.com/itc-finds-apple-violates-one-motorola-patent-24224485/
Apple was found to infringe a Motorola patent by the ITC on the 24th of April and a ban could be issued for iPads and iPhones.
Will VirtualBall and others claiming "you need to respect Apple's patents" do the same against Apple and for Motorola ?
http://www.slashgear.com/itc-finds-apple-violates-one-motorola-patent-24224485/
Apple was found to infringe a Motorola patent by the ITC on the 24th of April and a ban could be issued for iPads and iPhones.
Will VirtualBall and others claiming "you need to respect Apple's patents" do the same against Apple and for Motorola ?
95 months ago
Apple didn't "take" the idea. Apple bought it from one of the jailbreak developers who conveniently works for Apple now.
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/03/apple-has-hired-mobilenotifier-developer-peter-hajas/
That's the specific notification, but the notification bar (the shade you pull down) is very obviously taken from Android, which has had that since its inception.
95 months ago
The problem here is the actual patent itself. It's practically a patent on "computer science" and was filed in the 90's.
The patent is literally "see some data, and provide a clickable action choice for it." If you are a computer scientist, the patent seems downright evil. It is incredibly generic and could be used to try and take down anything. The very fact Apple is using it to try to stifle competition, in this particular instance, is really really shameful.
I understand most people on these boards have no idea about these things and are just Apple fans. In this case however, while Apple might have the legal upper hand, they are clearly and unequivocally in the wrong. You should not be able to patent something so ridiculously basic as this.
Should clickable hyperlinks be patented to one company? Should a I-IV-V progression be able to be patented or copyrighted by the first musician to use it? Should a cook be able to patent the use of fire in preparing food?
The patent is literally "see some data, and provide a clickable action choice for it." If you are a computer scientist, the patent seems downright evil. It is incredibly generic and could be used to try and take down anything. The very fact Apple is using it to try to stifle competition, in this particular instance, is really really shameful.
I understand most people on these boards have no idea about these things and are just Apple fans. In this case however, while Apple might have the legal upper hand, they are clearly and unequivocally in the wrong. You should not be able to patent something so ridiculously basic as this.
Should clickable hyperlinks be patented to one company? Should a I-IV-V progression be able to be patented or copyrighted by the first musician to use it? Should a cook be able to patent the use of fire in preparing food?
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