Mobile Wars - Patents, Infringements and Intellectual Property

The last 12-24 months has seen the war of attrition between mobile phone manufacturers escalate to new heights, in court rooms across the globe. Apple sues Samsung, Samsung sues Apple, Apple sues HTC etc etc etc... It's also seen device manufacturers, along with OS designers such as Google, Apple and Microsoft scramble to buy and/or secure patents for as many trivial things as possible.

So what does this mean for us, the end consumer? It means we'll see delays in product launches, fewer international releases, as well as longer waiting times for product availability locally. Anyone remember the Galaxy Tab 10.1 saga...

But this blog hasn't been written to knock Apple, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Google or whom ever it is that happens to have provided another large payday for our nation's patent lawyers.

This blog would simply like to ask the question as to whether all of this court room drama stifles true innovation. Not just how a lock screen unlocks. Not just how a sequence of data is sent to a particular cellular radio in a phone. Not just how wide a bezel is and the colour used. But true innovation.



Ultimately, the key driver behind consumer purchases will be cost/benefit. Can I justify spending this much, for this particular product. If Apple, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Sony Ericsson etc spend there lawyers fees on hiring a few more industrial designers, who knows how much further their products could have gone. By concentrating less on the competition's legal team and more on delivering the best product available, they'll win over the hearts and minds of consumers.

Now I can also understand the view point of said businesses, as they'd like to protect their products. But really, the design of a lock screen probably won't make or break a particular device. Nor will the fact that it has a black bezel around the screen of a tablet.

So, what does it come down to then... Really, we as consumers just want new, shiny things. We don't want to be told what we can and can't have, but instead like to have choice. Competition is good and brings out the best in people. Manufacturers need to stop looking at how they can throw a spanner into the cogs of their competitors, and instead look at how they can design a better product. The sooner they do so, the better for us all.

Rant over.

But let us know what you guys think. Feel free to comment below and share your viewpoint.