VIA Wants iPad, iPhone Banned in USA

[NaRu]

Apple's iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Apple TV supposedly infringe upon three patents owned by VIA Technologies. VIA is asking the court to halt sales of those products.

What goes around come around. Apple just won a battle against Samsung which resulted in the banning of the latter company's Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany. The German courts agreed with the fruity iPad developer in that the company owns exclusive rights to minimalist tablet designs (and apparently Stanley Kubrick does not). Citing patent infringement, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 cannot be imported or sold within the German borders.

But now Apple is facing a patent infringement lawsuit filed against it by Taipei-based motherboard, CPU, and chipset maker VIA Technologies, Inc. Submitted to the U.S. Federal Court in Wilmington, Delaware, VIA is crying patent infringement (who isn't anymore) and seeking a jury trial along with a plea to the court to ban the sale of Apple's iPad, iPhone, iPod and Apple TV products.

According to the lawsuit, these devices infringe upon three of its U.S.-based patents -- two filed in 2001 and the third in 2004 -- that "generally provides efficient loading of data in the microprocessors and efficient conversion and transfer of data in the microprocessors." The three patents specifically cover a technical "instruction set for bi-directional conversion and transfer of integer and floating point data" and "method and apparatus for double operand load."

"Microprocessors that include this technology can rapidly load data from memory, directly move data between floating point and integer registers, and rapidly convert data from one another, thereby increasing the operational speed of the microprocessors," VIA said in its suit.

Unfortunately, Apple may have a tough battle ahead. The Delaware Court is supposedly known as a "plaintiff-friendly region," similar to the Eastern District Federal Court of Texas. Banning the sale of Apple products seems a little far-fetched, but if anything, the Cupertino company may have to shell out some big bucks if found guilty.

Timing of the complaint isn't coincidental. Apple is reportedly gearing up to reveal the iPhone 4S on October 4 along with the new iPod Touch model and perhaps even the rumored iPhone 5. A temporary injunction barring Apple from selling "infringing products" would cripple Apple's pre-holiday season sales.

It seems that Apple is getting sued now. It's about time if you ask me. Even if VIA loses (which most likely they will) no cell phone manufacturers will share any patents with apple but will share with anyone else. One day Apple will have to design their own hardware to keep up with newer phones.

[Lupin]

you get what you give

[TMRNetShark]

It seems that Apple is getting sued now. It's about time if you ask me. Even if VIA loses (which most likely they will) no cell phone manufacturers will share any patents with apple but will share with anyone else. One day Apple will have to design their own hardware to keep up with newer phones.

You do well for yourself in an industry, you effectively paint a big red target on your back. If Apple knows they have evidence that could lead them to be guilty, expect this to be settled out of court.

[halfelite]

It seems that Apple is getting sued now. It's about time if you ask me. Even if VIA loses (which most likely they will) no cell phone manufacturers will share any patents with apple but will share with anyone else. One day Apple will have to design their own hardware to keep up with newer phones.

You do well for yourself in an industry, you effectively paint a big red target on your back. If Apple knows they have evidence that could lead them to be guilty, expect this to be settled out of court.

Im sure they have evidence just like samsung counter sued back also, we will see a lot more of it from different companies, and sad part is apple brought it on themselves with the suing of samsung, the industry is full of stupid patents someone always owns how telecommunication works and just the idea of talking on a cordless phone is a patent.

[TMRNetShark]

It seems that Apple is getting sued now. It's about time if you ask me. Even if VIA loses (which most likely they will) no cell phone manufacturers will share any patents with apple but will share with anyone else. One day Apple will have to design their own hardware to keep up with newer phones.

You do well for yourself in an industry, you effectively paint a big red target on your back. If Apple knows they have evidence that could lead them to be guilty, expect this to be settled out of court.

Im sure they have evidence just like samsung counter sued back also, we will see a lot more of it from different companies, and sad part is apple brought it on themselves with the suing of samsung, the industry is full of stupid patents someone always owns how telecommunication works and just the idea of talking on a cordless phone is a patent.

If you use someone else's patent... then you owe them ROYALTIES. Apple has made a lot of money... A LOT... of money. Effectively, it's a scheme that allows other companies who own the patents to collect on those rights under penalty of law.

[AceHigh]

This is the deal, Apple has an army of lawyers, VIA, Samsung and other companies have an army of lawyers.

Those lawyers need to have a job, so companies let them sue each other as much as they want while those very same companies will still trade with each other and even have new contracts set up.

This is the fucked up reality of capitalism 

[mgz]

It seems that Apple is getting sued now. It's about time if you ask me. Even if VIA loses (which most likely they will) no cell phone manufacturers will share any patents with apple but will share with anyone else. One day Apple will have to design their own hardware to keep up with newer phones.

You do well for yourself in an industry, you effectively paint a big red target on your back. If Apple knows they have evidence that could lead them to be guilty, expect this to be settled out of court.

doing well isnt what painted the big target on their back. Their constant lawsuits against other manufacturers for patent infringement painted the target on their face

[halfelite]

doing well isnt what painted the big target on their back. Their constant lawsuits against other manufacturers for patent infringement painted the target on their face

But But apple owns rounded corner icons everyone should bow down lol.

It is funny though apple sue Samsung to block samsung from selling their products but inks a deal for $7.8billion dollars

[Ixarku]

This is the deal, Apple has an army of lawyers, VIA, Samsung and other companies have an army of lawyers.

This instantly gave me the mental image of a Braveheart-style battle, with hordes of business-suited bespectacled men charging down the sides of a valley, red ties flying akimbo, to slam into each other, flailing wildly with black briefcases while a judge screams in the background, "Objection overruled!"



If lawsuits were like this, and they were filmed for TV, lawyers might be more popular with the common man.

[NaRu]

I might want to be a lawyer....I will always have a job.

[undetz]

This is the deal, Apple has an army of lawyers, VIA, Samsung and other companies have an army of lawyers.

This instantly gave me the mental image of a Braveheart-style battle, with hordes of business-suited bespectacled men charging down the sides of a valley, red ties flying akimbo, to slam into each other, flailing wildly with black briefcases while a judge screams in the background, "Objection overruled!"

<3

[fohfoh]

This is the deal, Apple has an army of lawyers, VIA, Samsung and other companies have an army of lawyers.

This instantly gave me the mental image of a Braveheart-style battle, with hordes of business-suited bespectacled men charging down the sides of a valley, red ties flying akimbo, to slam into each other, flailing wildly with black briefcases while a judge screams in the background, "Objection overruled!"

<3

I also imagined the use of iMacs as shields... iPod shuffles as throwing stars...

[Osmo]

I'm curious where this is all headed.
In the law of the jungle only one remains alpha, the rest are better.
I assume Apple are started all sorts of problems which can become infectious and cause people to stop sharing.

[bloody000]

I'm curious where this is all headed.
In the law of the jungle only one remains alpha, the rest are better.
I assume Apple are started all sorts of problems which can become infectious and cause people to stop sharing.

Patenting is sharing. The inventor simply gets a time-limited monopoly on his invention in exchange for publicly disclosing the details of his invention.

[mgz]

I'm curious where this is all headed.
In the law of the jungle only one remains alpha, the rest are better.
I assume Apple are started all sorts of problems which can become infectious and cause people to stop sharing.

Patenting is sharing. The inventor simply gets a time-limited monopoly on his invention in exchange for publicly disclosing the details of his invention.

AND receiving credit where due often in the form of monetary gain

[bloody000]

Well that's more like the result of using that monopoly.

[mgz]

Well that's more like the result of using that monopoly.

patents are supposed to protect inventors ideas from theft allowing them to receive credit where due which in the case of technologies often involves making money.

[kitamesume]

think of patents as your rights.

you made a new recipe of chocolates that made you go millions in a month, obviously if someone were to stole that recipe your business will fall.
patents is there to handle thieves, either by making a contract where you make them pay a monthly fee or a percentage of their income, or banning them of the rights to have your recipe.

[Sosseres]

you made a new recipe of chocolates that made you go millions in a month, obviously if someone were to stole that recipe your business will fall.
patents is there to handle thieves, either by making a contract where you make them pay a monthly fee or a percentage of their income, or banning them of the rights to have your recipe.

That is a simplistic way of looking at it for luxuries. The clothing industry has really poor protection, yet there are extremely expensive brands.

They can also be exploited, say you and a competitor think of that new recipe, you file for it first, get it and do nothing with it for the entire duration. It wouldn't fit in your market, yet it also stops your competition, so you still have an indirect profit from it.

There is also the case of too broad patents being awarded for a too long time, blocking entire industries to one company.

[kitamesume]

^ try giving "sun ken rock" a read, its similar to this patent war.