Tag: iPad

I’m Having A Geeky Blogging Month

I am writing a lot about the business of Apple.

I do project management and I do not own any Apple products yet lately, a lot of my posts are about technology. This blog is about anything that comes to mind and it surprises me that IT business  is a subject that I think a lot about.

As a project manager, I am on the business side of IT and I am thinking about getting an iPad. I am sensitive to these subjects. It makes sense that I would think, and write, about these often.

I planned on the blog revealing things about myself. I did not know what revelations to expect. This one is surprising. I was hoping for something a little more interesting.

Apple’s History Forgotten

Does anybody remember Apple’s 1988 lawsuit against Microsoft?

Technology news sites and bloggers are talking a lot about Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung. Apple is claiming that Samsung has copied the designs of its iPhone and iPad. All this talk about the lawsuit and I see no mention of its earlier lawsuit against Microsoft for copying the “look and feel” of the Macintosh operating system.

The only article that I found mentioning this historic lawsuit is an article from 2010 when Apple sued HTC. This article has the comparison that I expect in the commentary about the latest legal action from Apple.

I see the previous lawsuit influencing the language in the filing. Apple uses the word “slavishly” to describe copying by Samsung. They are using a stronger word to avoid the legal comparison to their “look and feel” complaint against Microsoft.

Apple settled all lingering issues in 1997. The settlement included concessions by Microsoft to continue development of Microsoft Office for the Macintosh platform and a $150 million investment in Apple. It is often cited as the reason Apple survived the 90’s. There is a lot of commentary about Samsung being an Apple supplier and no mention of this precedent.

Interestingly, while Apple is busy starting a new case against Samsung, the lawsuit against HTC (and Nokia) suffered a setback. The US International Trade Commission says HTC and Nokia did not infringe Apple patents.

Apple is very proud of its (great) design and believes its designs should be protected. I think they will continue to sue the imitators and they may win a few cases for patent infringement; however, they will continue lose a lot of the cases. History says so.

Related Articles