Apple patents dock
Stardock responds: Bring it on
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize News
Apple has been granted a patent for the MacOS dock.
Read the whole thing here.
Besides the general idea of a userbar with "a plurality of item representations" that consolidates features like "launching and managing running applications," the patent focuses particularly on the Dock's magnification feature that makes icons bigger as you sweep by them with a cursor.
Some may recall this article that points out that not only have docks been seen in operating systems for decades but that Stardock has been doing docks since 1994.
Look familiar? Apple has every right to protect their inventions. But their innovation with regards to the Mac dock is extremely narrow. Stardock doesn't patent its software as a rule for philosophical reasons. But the lack of a patent doesn't mean Stardock hasn't been heavily involved in creating prior art.
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Reply #22 Thursday, October 9, 2008 12:09 PM
Good point Taepodong. There seems to be a whole new industry of simply patenting concepts/ideas. This seems to have been cultivated mostly by lawyers. The issue still remains the same for the little guys such as inventors and small business.
Reply #23 Thursday, October 9, 2008 1:09 PM
Reply #24 Thursday, October 9, 2008 4:55 PM
Reply #25 Thursday, October 9, 2008 6:41 PM
Sometimes there will be 'products' that are just so commonplace or woven into a culture that no-one ever believes they warrant patent protection, etc. as it's a 'given' that everyone knows who belongs to them...or who they belong to.
Perfect example was/is Ugg Boots. Some Johnny-come-lately distributor of them in the US decided to file for the trademark...and got it.....even though it was a product 'name' that had freely existed in Australia for half a century.
At the end of the day it mattered diddly-squat as Australian Law laughed out the claim...so we [Oz] can still call an Ugg Boot an Ugg Boot...without paying triple the price for a third-rate copy imported from the US....
Reply #26 Friday, October 10, 2008 9:06 AM
It's all here in the History of the Dock WWW Link
Reply #27 Friday, October 10, 2008 9:52 AM
One of the many reasons i have never like Apple and anything to do with it, maybe its me, but compared to a lot of other companies they like to display their greed publicly, and claim they invented this or that, hey thats just me, about a year back i had to borrow my nieces mac for the weekend, well it was the weekend from hell, i couldnt get the cd out of the drive or figure out how to do it either, come to find out it was some kind of defect on this model and was recalled or something, just my two cents, people chastise Bill Gates, but how many people give away BILLIONS of his money to help good causes, especially since he has teamed up with Warren Buffet, world needs more wealthy people like these two
Reply #28 Friday, October 17, 2008 9:34 AM
I think it is not going to happen anymore as even after Apple makes it patent, Internet Piracy is going to rule & make it worst and we will always got dock as we are enjoying nowadays.
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Reply #21 Thursday, October 9, 2008 11:59 AM
I understand that Stardock is against software patents...but at the same time, I'd think defensive patents (ones that you register simply to prevent others from claiming it as their own then suing you over it) would be good. No active prosecution of 'infringers,' just evidence in your defense.