Seems Apple is in the firing line again over patent infringements. This time it's Kodak on the offensive.

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eastman Kodak Co has taken legal action claiming Apple Inc's iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry camera phones infringe the photography company's patents.

Kodak shares rose on Thursday after it said it filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), alleging iPhones and BlackBerrys improperly use technology related to a method for previewing images.

Kodak filed two suits in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York against Apple that claim infringement of patents related to digital cameras and certain computer processes.

Representatives from Apple and RIM said the companies do not comment on litigation."

So is the Iphone as good as it is because Apple took all the best ideas from everyone else and put them all together?

No, it's because Apple spend an age refining the GUI and making it work well. Other firms, not so much...

I believe Kodak have no patents on 'camera guis' - and if they did, the Apple and RIM GUIs are different enough that's its hard to think both would come under the same patent - but they do have quite a few patents on the process of taking photographs and the post processing thereof. It could be something to do with face recognition or auto-focus, which the user never actually sees the mechanics of.


Jon

The report I read said something about the patents covering how the image from the sensor is displayed on the screen...

More here.

Judging by Kodak's success with their previous patent disputes, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple and Blackberry had to cough up on this one.

Me either.

But the "programs requesting help" sounds suspiciously like an "API" to me, which has been used in computing since time immemorial, so either the person describing the patent got it wrong or that is a patent troll patent...

No it's because Apple look at the device as a consumer-oriented system rather than as an engineer's plaything.

Define good. (I initially typed good as god, which would be a much more interesting discussion).

Apple products are technology repackaged for technological Luddites, although I meant that as a criticism, maybe it's not, although it's step close to Westworld and The Culture.

Well, you see, I'm one of those silly people who believes that as technology advances it should become easier to use otherwise we're on a collective fail as a species.

I'm almost inclined to think evolution shouldn't be so intrinsically linked to technology, I think there's still some work to be done in philosophical and spiritual areas.

That's one reson why I say all OSs suck - they don't get easier for everyday use.

Like with the GIMP I think every OS should have a feature freeze and a GUI overhaul.

Especially Linux.

That reads like techno-snobbery to me. I'm no Apple fan, I don't own an iPhone, an iMac or an iPod, but I have no problem with them making technology accessible to the great unwashed.

I can build a computer, but I don't know the first thing about how an iphone works, does that mean I can't have one?

I see Nokia are claiming 13 infringements against Apple. Just Google news results for patent infringement, it's plain to see that everybody is, or has been, at it on some level or another.

The timing is interesting, owning an iphone is something of a cachet. They are very desirable and are selling well, especially now that they are opening up to more mobile operators. Add to that the economic situation, and Apple is a ripe target for a spot of patent harvesting. I don't beleive Kodak only just discovered this infringement, they were just waiting for the goose to fatten up a bit.

If you know how a computer works then you must surely know how an iphone works, as it is merely a computer.


Isn't this techno snobbery as well.

Not at all. It is merely a throwback to the CustomPC forums, where most members listed their system specs. It wasn't uncommon to be contacted by people, with similar specs, and asked how to achieve the overclock listed in the sig. Helping someone else overclock their rig doesn't seem like snobbery to me.

I wasn't aware of that, I always perceived it as just showing off, especially as I don't understand some of it.