Monec gets free publicity by suing Apple for "eBook qualities"
I'm getting sick and tired of companies getting free publicity by claiming that Apple is infringing on their patents. It makes a mockery of the whole patent system when companies like Monec decide to pick holes on the flimsiest of pretexts.
Get this... because the iPhone is a backlit device with a touch screen, and because Apple approved an application from Amazon that lets users buy electronic books a la the Kindle, the Swiss company has cried foul.
This is despite the fact that this "innovative leader in the growth market of mobile communications systems" doesn't want to show off any of its own products or services (if, indeed, it has any and hasn't just spent its lifetime filing patents).
The iPhone allegedly infringes a patent awarded to Monec seven years ago for "electronic device, preferably an electronic book" that accessed content "by way of a telephone line (cable, light waves, or radio) or a television cable at any time with the newest information."
How vague is that?
Monec, presumably struggling in the global economy, requests damages including lost profits (yeah, because I was going to buy a Monec electronic book reader before the iPhone came along... oh hang on, they don't exist), reasonable royalties, and some other legal expenses chucked in for good measure.
Honestly, Monec, get a life and try developing something worth selling as your own. The time spent poring over the iPhone (which can do many things including displaying content from books) should have been spent building up your own business - if, indeed, you have one.
(Via PC Mag)
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