back to article 'PatentGate' allegations denied by Apple

There is no "PatentGate." That's the word from FutureTap, the company which The Reg reported last Friday was concerned about Apple's lifting of the look-and-feel from its flagship app and including an illustration of it in a recently published patent application. "Apple is contemplating steps to attribute the screenshot in the …

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  1. Doug Glass
    Go

    How To Conquer The World

    Two steps forward; one step back. The Sacred J must be channelling Nikita Khrushchev

  2. ratfox
    WTF?

    I still don't get it

    Isn't it that Apple is trying to get a patent on a certain type of apps, by giving as examples apps that ALREADY EXIST and have been created by OTHERS?

    Is it not something called prior art? Supposedly not patentable?

    1. James Butler

      Re: I still don't get it

      You're thinking too small ... Apple is attempting to patent the CONCEPT of applications on mobile devices. Full stop. The CONCEPT of APPLICATIONS. On mobile devices, as opposed to those that already exist for non-mobile devices. Surprised, yet?

      1. JaitcH
        Jobs Horns

        Fixed or mobile it's the art of the patent

        It makes little difference if prior art is used on a desk top, a vending machine or a portable device a patent. or prior use, can not be recycled which is what Apple attempted to do, again.

    2. Eponymous Howard
      FAIL

      No

      Apple is seeking patent on a process and using a variety of apps as examples to illustrate where it could be used.

      The use of the image in of Where to...? would almost certainly fall within the bounds of fair use under US law. It was pretty bad manners not to credit it, but not illegal and not what El Reg, among others claimed it to be.

    3. Displacement Activity

      Title

      As the Man From Apple says:

      "The patent application in question does not claim as inventive the pictured user interface nor the general concept of an integrated travel services application".

      This is presumably some sort of method and process application, and is seeking to protect only some combination of stuff running on an iSomething. The only people who need to worry about this are those who want to write apps to do the same thing on an iPants.

      As to whether this is inventive, YMMV. Remember, the US is the country that has granted 5 (US) patents on perpetual motion machines, and on all elephant-shaped buildings. True.

    4. Rex Alfie Lee
      WTF?

      It's not the patent it's the threat...

      It's the threat of litigation whether or not you can prove your point of unpatentable, could you in all seriousness take on the bank balance by litigating against Apple. Aye, there's the rub! Yes you could screw me if you could afford to screw me but because you can't, you can't.

      How Microsoft is that? A-holes!

  3. Blake Davis

    "PatentGate" "AntennaGate"

    Didn't everyone learn a long time ago that it's a very bad idea to break into the Democratic National Committee headquarters?

    1. Ian Yates
      Joke

      Water...

      I waiting for a scandal to break involving someone stealing government water (or something)... what'll they call that!

      1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge
        Joke

        Watergate 2

        The watergatening

  4. Morpho Devilpepper
    Jobs Horns

    Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

    "There is no antenna issue. There is no iPad overheating issue. There is no patent issue. And the Americans are nowhere near Baghdad, they are miles and miles away..."

    1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

      Propaganda

      We have always been at war with EastAsia

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How amicable can it be

    How amicable can it be, the guy from FutureTap can't really do much if Apple has has them by the purse strings.

    James Butler has pointed out the bigger issue.

  6. LinkOfHyrule
    Coat

    Frankly I'm surprised

    Frankly I'm surprised that the green/red fruits that grow on trees that contain pips are still known as apples! I would of though Steve would of tried suing orchards/god/plannet Earth by now for trademark infringement - they rip off his company's name and they even have the word "app" as the first three letters!

    I wonder if Steve will also try to patent gravity seeing as it was discovered with an apple!

    Mine's the one with infringing fruits sticking out the pocket!

    1. Alex Rose

      It's would "HAVE" people!

      Example 1:

      "I would have gone shopping but I felt ill."

      Example 2:

      "I would of gone shopping but I felt ill."

      Are you seriously trying to tell me that when you look at the second example and try to parse it it makes sense to you? You might as well say something like:

      "Her eyes were green, the colour have a winter sea."

      Now if you think that sounds stupid think about how you sound when you do the same thing in reverse.

      1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge
        Headmaster

        Pedantry?

        There's an icon for that.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    I wipe my hands...

    As the article at least implies, this was a waste of time. A whole load of massively spurting tech-gurus exuding nothing worth noticing. Typical. At least this journal remained clean. Let me wipe this away from my perma-glaze Registrynil covering...

  8. disgruntled yank

    anygate

    Here's my patent gate: we take journalists who have appended "gate" to the subject of the latest scandal, and slam their fingers in it until they are re-educated. Had this been done with William Safire back in the "Koreagate" days 40+ years ago, we might not be suffering from these names still.

    Folks, the Watergate apartments in Washington are bankrupt. The suffix became so long ago. Let it die.

  9. SlabMan

    U O Me

    I have patented the process of trolling, based on inventing phony outrage points that suit your agenda, rather than the claims actually contained within the patent. James Butler and Anonymous Coward now owe me royalties.

  10. Jon Double Nice

    Gentz says:

    Woohoo! Do you know how much I would have had to pay to get his much advertising?

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