The Battle Rages On: One Final Word for Apple

Those of you who’ve read my posts to this blog with any degree of regularity know that I have devoted a fair amount of space to discussing the ever-evolving, ever-complicated legal battles between Apple and its competitors, chiefly Samsung.  I promise not to focus much more on this; it’s admittedly getting kind of boring watching all the “anathemas” being hurled in both directions.  All the same, I feel compelled to ask one final question:

When will it all end?

A panel of three judges on Thursday overturned a prior ruling that had barred Samsung from marketing and selling its Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the U.S.  Apple had contended that the Nexus violated a number of software and design patents that would lead to undue customer confusion.  In overturning the ruling, the judges opined that Lucy Koh, the judge who handed down the injunction, had abused her authority.  In order to bar sales of the Galaxy Nexus, the panel argued, Apple would need to prove that people bought the phone specifically because it included features that infringe on Apple’s patents.

I don’t know much about law, but the second ruling makes intuitive sense to me.  As I said in an earlier post, it should be up to the consumer to investigate the features offered by competing devices and make an informed decision based on their findings.  I did exactly that when I bought a Galaxy Skyrocket last January.  And while one of the factors behind my purchasing decision was indeed the fact that the phone wasn’t from Apple, I definitely didn’t buy it because the phone—or at least a model like it—infringes on patents.

On a related note, for the past couple of months I have been using Windows 8 on both my desktop and laptop.  As a former Mac user, I can attest that there are a number of new similarities between Microsoft’s new OS and Apple’s counterpart.  The two companies won’t be at each other’s throats over those, so what’s the big deal?  The tech world will always be one of give and take, and Windows, Android, and other technologies that compete with Apple’s myriad offerings aren’t going anywhere.

No matter what further developments transpire as this drama plays itself out, I have four words for Apple: Give it a rest!

Luke can be reached at luke.jensen1981(at)gmail.com