Comments on: Apple sued for patent infringement over Numbers spreadsheet

By: iMacMike

iMacMike — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 01:39:01 +0000

And to add… I checked Data Engine Technologies listed address of 6136 Frisco Square in Frisco, and guess what… it’s a Regus office plaza. They exist on paper only.

By: iMacMike

iMacMike — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 01:21:30 +0000

Borland’s Quatro Pro was the first to come out with notebook pages in a spreadsheet and also the first to bring ‘shrink to fit’ printing. I had it and it was a beautiful piece of software, beating Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel 4 in every category. Then Excel 5, Lotus Improv, and just about every other spreadsheet program copied it and that was that… tabbed spreadsheets were the norm. Even Berkeley GEOCalc on my Commodore 128 had tabbed spreadsheets!

There needs to be reform in the patent litigation world. The company I work for, a small 7 employee telecomm, is being sued for infringing on a patent for sending telephone calls over a packet network… or VOIP. Every phone call in the world is trunked over VOIP networks in one way or another, including landline, cell, Skype, and FaceTime. This company found an obscure patent, bought it, and now they are collecting judgements so they can eventually go after AT&T, Sprint, and even Microsoft now that they own Skype, which basically is just a VOIP service. This company, or so it’s called, is listed in Texas and has one officer, and as far as I can find, he’s actually a Korean national. Their office is a Regis lease office in Plano with a receptionist… that’s it! But he has a high powered California lawyer (who’s also Korean) and a fistful of cash from small companies like ours. And, yes, he filed in Tyler court.

By: edward

edward — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:25:54 +0000

apple sued again? if I remember, there is no year like 2012 that apple sues companies. why? Steve Jobs died. they can’t innovate, invent technology anymore. but they have tons of money thanks to stupid apple fanboys, isheep to buy apple products. Tim Cook doesn’t want to admit something that they face with limitation now. that’s why they do lawsuit. they totally misunderstand that they think they win. they don’t see a long term vision.

By: kingmel

kingmel — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 20:56:26 +0000

Currently in the U.S., the first to invent (not to file) is the legitimate patent owner. There is a movement to synchronize U.S. law with international law, which I believe includes first to file.

Regardless, a patent may not be found valid when challenged in court. Evidence of prior art is a valid argument.

By: kingmel

kingmel — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 20:52:13 +0000

VisiCalc… Great piece of II software!

By: kingmel

kingmel — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 20:50:21 +0000

East Texas is almost a different country. The piney woods are great. The prejudices still harbored by some of its residents? Not so great.

By: twilightmoon

twilightmoon — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 13:53:32 +0000

I’m sure you are correct. Except it may be a single Texas employee who is employed part time to run this “company”

By: HUYA™

HUYA™ — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 01:51:31 +0000

There has always been a spreadsheet included in ClarisWorks/AppleWorks which probably predates 1995 by a few years. In other words, “prior art”.

By: mccfr

mccfr — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 22:40:11 +0000

Actually, that was Lotus Improv.

By: 8^þ

8^þ — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:56:05 +0000

Microsoft released Multiplan, their first spreadsheet with a GUI interface, on Macs in 1985, but it didn’t have paged worksheets. In 1994 MS released Excel 5 with the then new multi-sheet workbook feature. Prior art galore!

Here’s the abstract from the 1995 filling of the 724 patent: An electronic spreadsheet system of the present invention includes a notebook interface having a plurality of notebook pages, each of which may contain a spread of information cells, or other desired page type (e.g., Graphs page). Methods are provided for rapidly accessing and processing information on the different pages, including displaying a plurality of page identifiers for selecting individual pages, and further including a preferred syntax for referencing information. Additional methods are provided for editing cells and blocks of cells.

By: Digital Minds

Digital Minds — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:51:56 +0000

Perhaps, Data Engine Technologies LLC should take a swing at Mapping software if it wants some of Apple’s money.

You should do more that cut and paste cells in a spreadsheet to get paid.

By: Dialtone

Dialtone — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:30:36 +0000

Yet Apple has major facilities in Texas.

By: RevDrX

RevDrX — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:29:52 +0000

I have a patent for “systems and methods to improve how things do stuff”, so you all owe me money.

By: 8^þ

8^þ — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:00:01 +0000

+ 

By: matt

matt — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:52:01 +0000

Seconded. This is usually a pretty fun site to visit – don’t ruin it for the rest of us with trite armchair politics. Go to foxnews or huffpost if you want to engage in that banal “conversation”.

By: OldManRiver

OldManRiver — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:35:10 +0000

The inventor of the original spreadsheet Visicalc, for the Apple II? ISTR he refused to patent his wholly original software. Nice reference!

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 12:39:18 +0000

Perhaps Apple is actually behind this and finding that getting press attention this way gets more visibility than an update would!

By: Stuart

Stuart — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 11:30:13 +0000

Please don’t take the thread in that direction. It just doesn’t need to become a completely off-topic shit-fight between ignorant bitchy shut-ins.

By: Petey

Petey — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 07:15:03 +0000

Ok, let’s get this straight…

Numbers had been out for many years, hasn’t been updated for a while and only now they want to sue apple over it?

This reaks of a company running out of money and looking to sue apple for cash.

Unbelievable.

By: Dell-boy

Dell-boy — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 06:10:38 +0000

Oh wait, this must be the same Texas that these Repblican/teabagger trolls are running.
Now I understand!
This must be free market thinking for you….

By: twilightmoon

twilightmoon — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 06:05:03 +0000

Software patents are only evil to the people who haven’t accomplished anything original in their life.

No good reason to single out programmers and lot allow them to patent their work and innovation.

By: twilightmoon

twilightmoon — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 06:02:49 +0000

Agree.

By: priused

priused — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 06:00:56 +0000

I believe that Numbers on OSX actually is the same ‘Numbers’ spreadsheet software that ran on the NeXT computer (1988-1990). Should be pretty easy for Apple to prove prior art.

By: kingmel

kingmel — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 04:38:38 +0000

Apple can and should fight it and then appeal, if it loses. The only way to stop the trolling is for Apple to make it clear to everyone that it will fight every frivolous lawsuit to the bitter end backed by its billions. Apple has to make it clear that it would rather spend $10M fighting a frivolous lawsuit than spend $250K settling out of court. After some expensive losses, the trolls will look elsewhere for their bit of flesh.

By: 8^þ

8^þ — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 03:05:35 +0000

The complaint was filed in Troll Heaven, aka Tyler, TX, so fighting it in court is likely a loss. The juries there are well-known patent-troll supporters. Congratulations to Texas on being the #1 troll-enabling venue…

By: breeze

breeze — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 02:51:18 +0000

Claris is still a subsidiary

By: breeze

breeze — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 02:50:01 +0000

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 02:49:25 +0000

That’s what my comment above was attempting to ask in a more contemporaneous fashion.

By: Bubba Jones

Bubba Jones — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 01:46:13 +0000

Is it not the one that first patients it that is the winner? Even though it may be prior art, if Data Engine Technologies LLC patients that technique they may well win. Remember, this is being played out in East Texas. Sad.

By: danilko1

danilko1 — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 00:50:50 +0000

Ummm…. I think Carlis Works, where iWorks was born from, was created well before 1997. Apple owned Claris.

By: mossman

mossman — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 00:49:04 +0000

They’re a cancer that’s harming innovation.

By: Really

Really — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 00:24:59 +0000

Lol both lead to the dark side

By: Cubert

Cubert — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 00:13:01 +0000

I think he’s referencing the fact that its been almost 3 years since Apple updated iWork.

By: Derek Currie

Derek Currie — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:58:54 +0000

No, it took this long for a vague enough patent to land in the hands of these particular patent troll RATS so they could sue Apple, that company with lots of cash.

By: Derek Currie

Derek Currie — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:57:42 +0000

“You got money? I’m gonna sue you!” The life of a parasite RAT.

And yes I know: You’re a patent troll? Your job is to sue people. Just be sure you have the cash to cover BOTH side’s costs when you LOSE your case. And most patent trolls LOSE their cases. Have fun with that, RATS.

By: First 2012, then Aw I give up

First 2012, then Aw I give up — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:17:55 +0000

I wonder what Dan Bricklin thinks of this news?

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:11:05 +0000

It took them this long to figure out Apple had a spreadsheet program?

By: abcd

abcd — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:04:44 +0000

I thought inventory was evil?

By: eldernorm

eldernorm — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:03:14 +0000

Marshall Texas is the key city. They actually have a functioning economy with these lawsuits. The longer that people prep and run the case, the more money they make.
Rooms for rent
local resturants
office supplies and services
Internet access
car rental
etc, etc, etc

Hey, for them, its a business.

By: Really

Really — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 22:51:32 +0000

Software patents are evil

By: sunbeamrapier

sunbeamrapier — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 22:37:26 +0000

You seem so proud of your ignorance…

By: TheMacAdvocate

TheMacAdvocate — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 22:35:25 +0000

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas? Shocking.

How much you want to bet this “Texas company” is a 2-person front for a patent troll like Intellectual Ventures?

By: Jubei

Jubei — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 22:25:19 +0000

Funny. Well it will be ammo for the crazies on Yahoo News comments. The stuff I see there is mind boggling. I hope the people viewing those pages are intelligent enough to realize that the iHaters are completely off the mark. The level of stupidity can easily be measured by the sheer number of profanity posted by the iHaters about Apple and it’s users.

By: WadeP1964

WadeP1964 — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 22:08:27 +0000

This is unbelieveable. These sue happy turds! Just because Apple has money, they want part of it. If I was Apple I’d fight their @ss in court and put them out of business……..

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 22:05:04 +0000

Wait: Apple has a spreadsheet program?