Apple faces $533m iTunes patent payout

bbc.com ^ | 25 February 2015 | Leo Kelion

[Berlin_Freeper]

Apple has suffered a patent defeat involving some of the technologies it uses in its iTunes store.

The company has been ordered to pay $533m (£344m) to Smartflash, a British Virgin Islands-based firm that owns and licenses tech-related patents but does not make products itself.

[Berlin_Freeper]

The jury said on Tuesday that Apple had violated all three patents. It also said that Apple failed to demonstrate that the patents were invalid.

[Berlin_Freeper]

A new report from Strategy Analytics says that even though global tablet shipments are rising, Apple's tablet market share dropped by 20% last year, from a 32.6% share in 2013 to 26.1% in 2014.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Apple's iPad loses ground to generic tablets in 2014, report says

[Berlin_Freeper]

Chinese government removes Apple from list of approved tech companies for state purchases

[Berlin_Freeper]

The company has been ordered to pay $533m (£344m) to Smartflash, a British Virgin Islands-based firm that owns and licenses tech-related patents but does not make products itself.

Is this the most drawn-out interview process ever?

[Vendome]

Green Mailers= Pirates....

[Vendome]

Nope.

They might lose numerically but, in practical application markets they continue to grow and the margins are extraordinary compared to cloners and wannabes...

[SeeSharp]

Patent trolls are bad for the economy, but they are not as bad as actual producers who hold patents. Troll don’t want to put you out of business. They just want a piece of your action. It’s like a tax. In contrast, the patent holding producer wants to shut competition down and will happily put you out of business completely.

[Berlin_Freeper]

For the most recent quarter ending in December, Apple reported iPad sales of 21.4 million units, down 18 percent year-over-year. The sales decline spurred a 22 percent dip in revenue from the same time last year, earning Apple about $9 billion compared to 2014's $11.5 billion performance.

[Vendome]

Did not know that...

[Berlin_Freeper]

Apple is losing the tablet market it created with the iPad

[Vendome]

Hmmmm....I agree somewhat but, that this “so called” company is BVI headquartered bends my antennae. ..

[Swordmaker]

Apple's iPad loses ground to generic tablets in 2014, report says

The vast majority of those generic tablets retail for under $60 and many of them are not even capable of connecting to the internet. They are at best considered children's toys. They run Android, but do not connect to the Android Play Store. They come loaded with a few built-in games, but you cannot add any more. Many others are like this one, running a very old version of Android:

Apad s3c64100 667Hz 256MB/2GB 7-inch MID Touchpad

Yes, that one is for sale today and was made in 2015 . . . but the companies who total these sales count them as competing with Apple's top of the line iPads as though they were the same market. They are not. People buy them and when they find they are pretty much useless, toss them in a drawer and forget about them. Look around. Do you ever see anyone using one?

[Swordmaker]

SmartFlash $533 million Patent Infringement suit against Apple Story already posted on FreeRepublic over here.

[Secret Agent Man]

Patent troll company. Produces absolutely nothing.

[cynwoody]

Patent trolls must be squished and their investors and counsel impoverished!

[Mad Dawgg]

iPods and mp3 only players are becoming redundant. Smartphones do the job as good or better.

[Berlin_Freeper]

SmartFlash $533 million Patent Infringement suit against Apple Story already posted on FreeRepublic over here.

Most people appreciate different sources.

[Berlin_Freeper]

I see people buying them.

Global tablet shipments are rising, but a new report from Strategy Analytics says Apple's tablet market share continues to slip,

Apple reported iPad sales of 21.4 million units, down 18 percent year-over-year.