
"Apple vs. Samsung initially ended with a billion-dollar verdict in favor of Apple, but there have been plenty of wrinkles since. This week brought about another, as Nokia
filed an amicus brief on behalf of Apple, Inc. in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In the brief filed Monday, Nokia asked the court to permit permanent injunctions on the sale of Samsung phones that were found to infringe Apple's patents." In the meantime, the
latest comScore figures for the US show that Windows Phone's market share actually
declined during the launch of Windows Phone 8. It's pretty clear that, combined with the
disappointing quarterly results for Nokia, the company is setting itself up for the future. In this future, Nokia's patent portfolio is worth more than their actual phone business, and as such, Nokia can't do anything but support Apple in this case, else the value of their portfolio goes down.
Member since:
2006-09-16
The public good served by patents isn't isn't about rewarding innovation, it's supposed to be about rewarding *publication* of innovation. In other words, making the details of innovations available to the public is the goal, a temporary government-imposed monopoly is the incentive.
Markets reward innovation, government has no need nor justification for doing so. There are powerful interests behind the misrepresentation of the purpose of patents ("rewarding innovation"), so it's worth pushing back and remembering the true purpose when comparing the benefit to the public against the cost to the public.
Some economists think that the cost of patents is higher than the benefits. Cost and benefit to the public, that is. Many companies see great benefit in suppressing competition.
Back to the topic, I see that the usual players are busy misrepresenting this case. The judge has not ruled out injunctions, she's ruled that it's not time for them *yet*. The jury didn't follow instructions, so that needs to be sorted out before injunctions or penalties can be assigned.