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frenchcamp49er

macrumors 6502a
Sep 18, 2014
694
1,112
If Apple have one single patent that they are not using and have/are/will defend it then they also are a non practising entity, or in general parlance - a patent troll?
Sorry bud, that’s not correct. Apple actually makes things. A troll doesn’t.
 
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Mousse

macrumors 68040
Apr 7, 2008
3,520
6,759
Flea Bottom, King's Landing
Idle threats...

They are never going to leave that market
I've learned that powerful entities don't make idle threats. They make statements.
If Apple is willing to leave the UK market over 7 billion dollars, that means the UK market is pretty insignificant to their bottomline. Don't worry Brits, y'all can still buy Apple stuff in Ireland (not part UK).
 
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Expos of 1969

Contributor
Aug 25, 2013
4,741
9,257
****ing.

Make.

Patent.

Trolling.

Illegal.

It’s not hard.

If you invent something but don’t intend to make a product out of it then you’re a science fiction writer not a product developing company.
You are quite funny. If I invent something and apply for a patent and then receive said patent, I can then do as little or as much with the patent as I choose. What do you not understand about that simple premise?

If another party wishes to use some or all of my invention which was invented and patented due to my intelligence and skills, that party is free to approach me and open negotiations. Whether I agree to licence or sell the patent is up to me. I own it.
 

adamlbiscuit

macrumors 6502a
Sep 22, 2008
579
1,301
South Yorkshire, UK
Here's my interpretation of it:

This is Apple's way of knocking Mr. Justice Meade down a peg or two. He appears to believe that they've got Apple over a barrel, that they can make any demand, and Apple will be powerless because their only recourse would be to leave the UK market, which Mr. Meade clearly doesn't think they'll ever want to do.

Apple, on the other hand, has made it clear that the option is on the table for consideration. Kind of giving off the impression - 'we don't need you as much as you seem to think we do, so think very carefully'. It may be a scare-tactic, but that's not to say there's no truth and that Apple is just bluffing.

As a UK citizen and avid Apple user it's unsettling, even if it is unlikely Apple will ever exit the market. Still it's got me thinking a lot about not putting my eggs in one basket, and diversifying my device line up with products from other brands.

If, hypothetically, Apple were to cease selling in the UK and closing down their services on top of that, that's all your iCloud Photos, files, iCloud Music Library gone. Food for thought, I guess.
 
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Expos of 1969

Contributor
Aug 25, 2013
4,741
9,257
Here's my interpretation of it:

This is Apple's way of knocking Mr. Justice Meade down a peg or two. He appears to believe that they've got Apple over a barrel, that they can make any demand, and Apple will be powerless because their only recourse would be to leave the UK market, which Mr. Meade clearly doesn't think they'll ever want to do.

Apple, on the other hand, has made it clear that the option is on the table for consideration. Kind of giving off the impression - 'we don't need you as much as you seem to think we do, so think very carefully'. It may be a veiled threat, but that's not to say there's no truth and that Apple is just bluffing.

As a UK citizen and avid Apple user it's unsettling, even if it is unlikely Apple will ever exit the market. Still it's got me thinking a lot about not putting my eggs in one basket, and diversifying my device line up with products from other brands.

If, hypothetically, Apple were to cease selling in the UK and closing down their services on top of that, that's all your iCloud Photos, files, iCloud Music Library gone. Food for thought, I guess.
Certainly you should diversify or always be prepared to in a quick fashion. One never knows what may happen to products or companies.
 

farmboy

macrumors 65816
Nov 26, 2003
1,307
488
Minnesota
Simple solution. Do not infringe on patents which you do not legally own. Apple seems to have difficulty grasping this basic rule over and over.
Simple response: One, you can't infringe on your own patents, and two, there is a things called "licensing" a patent from the patent holder, which Apple apparently has done, which gives them the legal right to practice that art or portion thereof.
 

Robert.Walter

macrumors 68040
Jul 10, 2012
3,112
4,437
There is no such thing as a patent troll.

For any given patent:
There is only valid IP and the opposite.
There are only buyers and sellers of IP.
There is only enforceable IP and the opposite.
There are only users of that IP and the opposite.
There are only users who violate that IP and the opposite.
There are only IP owners with valid enforceable IP who perceive enforcement and are willing to try to do so and the opposite.

People talking “Patent Troll” aren’t very knowledgeable about the subject.

if anything, perhaps, a patent troll could be an IP holder who stretches their patent beyond logical limits to generate income. But that’s an uphill battle at every turn.

The ability to assert infringement and to defend against it is as fundamental to our legal system as at other legal challenge regarding property ownership or personal liberty.

If patent aggregators weren’t allowed to exist, or to assert claims to derive income from their IP, it would vastly lower the value of IP because this part of the patent market would cease to exist.

Anybody who invests resources to develop an idea and pursue a patent and possibly want to sell it someday, is unlikely to view aggregators as trolls. (Although not the same thing, aggregators are as essential to the smooth functioning of the secondary patent market as short sellers are to the functioning of the stock market.)
 

Robert.Walter

macrumors 68040
Jul 10, 2012
3,112
4,437
Simple response: One, you can't infringe on your own patents, and two, there is a things called "licensing" a patent from the patent holder, which Apple apparently has done, which gives them the legal right to practice that art or portion thereof.
Some courts seem to differ.
 
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phpmaven

macrumors 68040
Jun 12, 2009
3,466
522
San Clemente, CA USA
They have to posture... but even if they have to cough up $7 billion they're not leaving (plus they're still on the hook for the judgement if they do)

"Apple's position is it should indeed be able to reflect on the terms and decide whether commercially it is right to accept them"

Yeah, I'd like to try that in divorce court when it comes to alimony.
According to the article if they leave the UK market they won’t have to pay the fine. $7 billion is an awful lot of motivation.
 
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Robert.Walter

macrumors 68040
Jul 10, 2012
3,112
4,437
Three of them, and a minority of the other one, as well. I'm English and I was pleased to lose. I hate most of our fans way more than I like the team, so I really didn't want those absolute goblins to have anything to celebrate.

i didn’t particularly care if they won or lost but their lack of sportsmanship by taking off their medals showed them for the true loser baby men they truly are.

On that point alone their loss is most apropos.
 

farmboy

macrumors 65816
Nov 26, 2003
1,307
488
Minnesota
If it's not your property, it's still not your property even if I'm not using it, or can't bring it out commercially for some reason right now. You can approach me and see if I'll license it to you or sell it to you. How is this not clear to you?

If you have a luxurious vacation home that you don't really use, I don't get to just move in and claim it, or lease it out or sell it out from under you. It's not mine, it's yours.
 

UBS28

macrumors 68030
Oct 2, 2012
2,893
2,340
You are quite funny. If I invent something and apply for a patent and then receive said patent, I can then do as little or as much with the patent as I choose. What do you not understand about that simple premise?

If another party wishes to use some or all of my invention which was invented and patented due to my intelligence and skills, that party is free to approach me and open negotiations. Whether I agree to licence or sell the patent is up to me. I own it.

The thing is, nobody uses your invention. Companies like Qualcom and Apple came to the exact same solution independently of yours and now you demand billion for something quite basic.
 

Expos of 1969

Contributor
Aug 25, 2013
4,741
9,257
The thing is, nobody uses your invention. Companies like Qualcom and Apple came to the exact same solution independently of yours and now you demand billion for something quite basic.
Were Apple and Qualcom granted patents for the identical invention for which I was granted a patent first? I think not. So there is your answer. I was the first one to receive a patent for the invention. If others wish to use the invention, pay me.
 
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farmboy

macrumors 65816
Nov 26, 2003
1,307
488
Minnesota
If it's not your property, it's still not your property even if I'm not using it, or can't bring it out commercially for some reason right now. You can approach me and see if I'll license it to you or sell it to you. How is this not clear to you?

If you have a luxurious vacation home that you don't really use, I don't get to just move in and claim it, or lease it out or sell it out from under you. It's not mine, it's yours.
 
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400

macrumors 6502a
Sep 12, 2015
760
319
Wales
What is the UK market worth to Apple over the next say 5 or 10 years vs fine I suppose is the question.
 

farmboy

macrumors 65816
Nov 26, 2003
1,307
488
Minnesota
Apple employees lawyers etc. I need to do a better job of researching their technology that's for sure.
There are about 3.25 million applications every year worldwide. Good luck with that. You make a good faith effort and move on and hope your method-design-claim doesn't infringe. There is also the cost-benefit analysis to the search.
 

One2Grift

Cancelled
Jun 1, 2021
609
546
What is the UK market worth to Apple over the next say 5 or 10 years vs fine I suppose is the question.

Probably in the ballpark of 6% on iPhones. At about 76 billion in net income (TTM) and iPhone probably 50% of that, it's 2 billion per year in net income from iPhone UK sales (assuming margins are the same in UK)

Those are estimates but probably not too very far off either way.

As far as 7 billion judgement? Assuming Apple used a patent unknowingly, that's so far over the top. But if they found Apple (if emails or the like showing it) willfully used a patent (something big companies do more than people know, Microsoft was a big doer of the use, capture market, litigate, pay if can't be acquired strategy) then it's going to be over the top. Companies that willfully patent infringe, IMHO, must be held to a punitive level.
 
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