Submitted by Garrick Hileman01.29.2009
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This prediction is closed and has been judged.
The recently unveiled Palm Pre won early praise for a number of innovations. However, the Pre's similarities to the Apple iPhone have not gone unnoticed, and Palm has raised questions that the company may have infringed on Apple's patents.
Apple COO Tim Cook took a swipe at Palm indirectly during the latest earnings call: "We like competition as long as they don't rip off our IP," or its intellectual property with multi-touch technology. "And if they do, we're going to go after anybody that does."
Palm's response: Bring it. Said Palm spokesperson Lynn Fox to Digital Daily: "Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio (31 pages of patents in Google Patent Search)... If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves."
Palm announced that the Pre will launch in the first half of 2009. If Apple decides to file a lawsuit it would probably do so not too long after the Pre's launch. Engadget conducted an Apple vs. Palm legal analysis here.
Prediction: Apple will take some form of legal action (i.e., injunction, lawsuit) against Palm over the Pre by September 30, 2009.
Image: Palm
Price History
Prediction Statistics
| Betting Closes: | Sep 30 2009 | Current Consensus: | 10.91% | Total Bets: | 20 |
| Today's Change: | 0% | ||||
| Life Time High: | 58.66% | ||||
| Life Time Low: | 10.91% |
Comments
@Garrick, Darn! I submitted a suggestion related to this a couple of days ago (but more generic, not solely a filing against Palm). I think modifying the prediction to be more generic (e.g. lawsuits can be made against any device manufacturer such as HTC, Palm, Samsung, etc) makes for a more exciting prediction in play. Each device manufacturer has their own IP asset up their sleeves to use as bargaining leverage (that could result in cross IP licensing to a certain extent). So, winning or losing a lawsuit would be more difficult to ascertain.
Palm and Apple will come to an agreement without any lawsuit because Palm also has many patents that Apple infringes upon.
Take #7,268,775, entitled "Dynamic brightness range for portable computer displays based on ambient conditions," for example -- it covers automatically adjusting display brightness using an ambient light sensor while leaving a user-selected brightness setting alone. Yep, that's exactly how the iPhone does it:
Or how about #7,007,239, "Method and apparatus for accessing a contacts database and telephone services"? Claim 10 is an almost exact description of the iPhone's phone app -- buttons for dialing, call history, contacts, and speed dial that stay on-screen as you toggle between them:
Or how about #7,296,107, "System and method for detection of an accessory device connection status"? It covers leaving the display at full brightness instead of auto-dimming while connected to a power source during sync -- go ahead and try it, iPhone owners, that's what it does.
And let's not forget 2001's greatest hit, patent #7,231,208, "User interface-technique for managing an active call": it describes in detail a conference call management system that's exactly like the iPhone's -- you put one call on hold while you make another, and then you can independently manage each call from a single screen. Look familiar?
These are just some of the Palm patents they can use as bargaining chips with Apple if necessary.
There are rumors that Apple WDC may have some news about iPhone and iPod Touch which occurs around June. Latest rumored release for Palm Pre is in June. It is normal for lawsuits to be used as strategic tools in a competitive environment. Apple may seek to file to wreck havoc on Palm Pre launch plans (or at least be a distraction). An injunction prior or immediately after the launch will do the trick. The prediction does not require a settlement or judgment on filed lawsuit. The fact that Apple files one is sufficient for favorable judgment.
That said, I am of the opinion that at the end of the day, a cross licensing agreement will happen which makes the lawsuit go away.
Global Crown Capital's wireless analyst Pablo Perez-Fernandez wrote a note to clients that if Apple files suit against Palm, Apple can also go after HTC, Garmin, and Research in Motion which all use some form of the multi-touch interface.
http://www.cnbc.com//id/28978246
@Yi-Wyn, exactly why my proposed prediction was generic (i.e. Apple can go after ANYONE they feel is infringing on their newly granted Touch IP asset).
I thought Jefferson Y. Han debuted his initial multi-touch system at the TED conference way before the iphone?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Table-cum-touch_displ...
Apple is running scared because Palm already has cut and paste implemented.
This is very true of what you are saying but, i believe that palm would have had to of acted within a year and a half or so of the release date of the iphone in legal terms of statute of limitations.
Judged negative -- no sign of lawsuit.
Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/the_standard
twitter.com/ilamont
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