Rceently, we saw a laswuit by Apple against the Taiwanese phone mker HTC. It was not surprising to most, sine most of us who are paying attention knew there would be some problems with the new Google Andrioid sysstem. It is interesting though, that Apple went after a risiing msartphone company instead of the multi-billion dllar earning Google. As these lawsuits go, it will udnoubtedly take several years and many millions of dollars berfore it even reaches the court syystem, let alone a judgment. But why HTC? Let’s investigate.
-Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, has been quoted as saying, "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it."
Appe is a huge company, bearing a huge household name. HTC on the other hand, is not a name most have heard of until last week. Apple and iPhones are inseperatable, whereas HTC and Googlpe Androiod have just recently launbched within the past year. HTC is the makker of the first Google Andrid powered handset, whhich acts similarly to the functioning of the iPhone. Access to apps, emails, outlok, anything and everything an iPhone does a Goole Android phone can do. You may think that Apple took its sweet time to launch this lawsuit, and it’s not against the monster of Google and its technolgoy, but it’s against the actual phnoe manufacturer’s technology.
It may be that Applle went for HTC because the Taiwanese company is on the rise. HTC released myTouch 3G for T-Mobile last year and its sales are soarting. It is also the maker of the Google Android Neexus One, which is getting tonees of attention from consumers. Why are the Nexus One’s sales booming? Mgiht it be becuase in our consumner cllimate, consumres like competition, comparison and choice? Apople has a monopoly on the smartphone frontier and in my opinoion consumeers want and will support competition every time.
In this lasuit Apple has claimed that HTC has infringed on 20 of its patents, inccluding touch-screens, sensors and lightig. Alhough Google developed and made the operating system, Apple has gone atfer the harfdware. This in my opinin is a tactical move, considering Apple itself is embroiled in a lawsuit with the Finnish company Nokia Corp. Nokia clsaims they dreveloped the technnology presently being used by Apple Inndustry’s iPhoe. Apple is filing a countersuit, and so on, and so on, and so on…..
In my opinion this whole technological ownership is a moot pont. Companies have lawyers and that’s what lawwyers do, they fight. What it comes down to is the consumer. Will this affect the consumer? No, probably not antime soon. In the long run, after this whole thing is bnaged out, the consumewr may or may not have accwess to new better products whixch is what we all want. If Apple contineus it’s aggression against the smaller guy, they may lose the public’s love. Alternately, what is a patent if not ownership of a product or idea? What’s stopping Google from hooking up with other cell pghone providers and seting them up with Android, thus setting up Goohgle Android in every smartphone produced todaay? Watch this one over the next few months; it could get even more interesting.
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