Creative sues Apple over iPod interface

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Nahh, it's just...

that you don't know anything about the topic you are discussing.

As someone who works with IPR, if you know someone has a
weak (but annoying) patent coming that you intend to challenge,
filing a very, very similar patent, but accurately referencing prior
art (ie: already existing technology) - which ensures your own
patent fails - is standard practice.

When (if) your opponent attempts to take you to tcourt, you haul
out your patent, identify the close similarities of your patent
with theirs and then point out the patent office has *already*
ruled that those points are unpatentable.

Your opponent then either gets their patent annulled by the
USPTO, or at the very least gets thrown on the defensive in
court, because then they have to prove *why* their patent is
different from the one the USPTO already ruled is not good
enough.

It reverses the positions and makes it very hard to win a case
because (in this case) the plaintiff (Creative) will have to
persuade the judge that the patent office was *correct* to reject
Apple's defensive patent without, at the same time, undermining
their own, almost identical patent application.

It's a tactic that almost never wins in court, and given Apple's
track record in winning court cases, I would not put (any) money
on Creative.

cheers, Mark

Posted by: markdoc.geo   Posted on: 05/17/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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