The current patent war looks more like an endless struggle. Every day, more and more processes are opened worldwide, whether by Patent trolls (companies that use patents and processes as a form of business) or by dueling tits like Apple, Samsung and Google through their subsidiary, Motorola.
In 2006, Creative Technology, a leader in the MP3 player market until the launch of the iPod, sued Apple for its recently approved patent that defines hierarchical visualization of music, the Cupertino giant entered into a $ 100 million agreement with company.
According to a former Apple executive, who spoke with New York Times, this episode served as a warning to Steve Jobs. Since then, the former Apple CEO decided to implement a policy of patenting everything, as a way to protect himself before the imminent arrival of the iPhone, which was still under development.
His attitude was that if anyone at Apple can dream of something, then they should apply for a patent, because even if we never construed it, it would be a defense tool.
To date, several patent battles are fought in courts around the world, and a lot of money is involved. The newspaper even went so far as to point out that both Apple and Google today spend more on patent-related lawsuits than on Research and Development (R&D).
(via Electronista, Ars Technica)
