Problems with CoverBling

[Mark Kretschmann]

On Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 3:40 PM, Mathias Panzenböck
<grosser.meister.morti at gmx.net> wrote:
> On 04/17/2010 02:35 PM, Myriam Schweingruber wrote:
>> On Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 13:58, Lukas<1lukas1 at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>> I'm  not a lawyer, but if patent has just been issued, shouldn't it be
>>> invalid, and cover flow design kept free over a prior art
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prior_art ?
>>
>> Please do not top-post...
>>
>> Unfortunately it is unlikely to be prior art on our behalf, since
>> Apple filed the patent on June 28, 2007 and they released the first
>> iPhone on June 29, 2007. it's the date of request, not the date when
>> the patent is granted that is valid as a grant is retroactive AFAIK,
>> but IANAL. I don't think we had something similar in our code before
>> that. Markey, do you remember when you wrote the first code of it?
>>
>> For the record, they own the CoverFlow technology since 2006:
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CoverFlow
>
> How can the patent be valid if the technology was already there in 2006?
> That IS before the patent was filed. It does not matter who made the prior
> art, once it is out you cannot file a patent any more. Even if the patent
> holder to be released the technology himself. At least that's how it works
> in Europe. Is it really that different in the USA?
>
> And anyway, I do not understand how applying something from the real world
> to the virtual world can be patented at all. I mean what innovation is that?
> Just applying what is already there in a different medium. That's what
> software developers do all the time.

Whether the patent is valid or not is of no direct relevance to us. We
don't have the financial resources to validate it, nor can we risk
getting into a lawsuit with Apple.

Besides, as I had pointed out in our forum, I find it a bit lame to
copy the feature so blatantly. We should try to innovate, not emulate.
And usability wise Cover Flow isn't all that great anyway, it just
looks fancy (so the name Bling is appropriate). So I suggest that we
invest our resources in creating something better, instead of
discussing the implications of that patent.

Some brainstorming was already started in our forum. Myriam had posted
the link, so please look there.

-- 
Mark Kretschmann
Amarok Developer
Fellow of the Free Software Foundation Europe
http://amarok.kde.org - http://www.fsfe.org