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1.  

   

   Steve E, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 10:37am

   
   

   Sometimes wiping out your competitors gives you a better position in the market than coming up with the 'next big thing'. Easy to see why these companies are at loggerheads.
   
   That's not to say I condone these practices, but it is natural and won't stop happening. Apple/Creative have been at it for ages over the navigation system in MP3 players too.

    

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2.  

   

   TriZz, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 11:11am

   
   

   I'm changing my occupation...

   ...from geek to patent attorney.

    

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3.  

   

   Anonymous Coward, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 11:14am

   
   

   This is so asinine. Why don't XM and sirius have the same problems (maybe they do and I missed it)?

    

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4.  

   

   Anonymous Coward, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 11:20am

   
   

   XM and Sirius dont have the revenue to waist on this as of now and I do believe they are joining forces to try to save them selves

    

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5.  

   

   BS, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 11:21am

   
   

   Re:

   Great insight ... remove the competiiton and you have more of the market? Really?
   
   And i would not say it's natural ... the only thing natural is eating / sleeping and, well, a couple of other things .... it is probably less costly (in their minds) to try and build a monopoly through a catalogue of patents then to compete with smart (ehtical) business moves.
   
   I think it's cowardly, and exposes them as lazy. But then again, where is the line between stealling and competing? see Microsoft's Zune ...

    

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6.  

   

   iRule, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 11:23am

   
   

   With the pizza analogy....
   That actually happened. Lil Caesars actually sued Pizza Hut and Dominos Pizza (unsuccessfully) when both competitors initially came out with square shaped pizza pieces. This happens. You'd certainly hope it would drive innovation, but sometimes it just drives up court costs, the cost of operating businesses, and the costs passed on to the consumers. Terrible.

    

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7.  

   

   Steve Portigal, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 2:06pm

   
   

   Missing the point

   Wait, so any two things that perform the same function can't have unique design features? Sennheiser can't sue Shure, because "they're both microphones, how different could their look and feel be?" Ford can't sue Mazda because "they're both cars, how different could their look and feel be?" What about eCommerce sites, ATMs, portable music players? Don't they have brand-specific, designed identities and approaches to performing their tasks? Comes off a bit like just bluster without thought, and it's disappointing because I really enjoy and appreciate your attitude most of the time. Here it reads as if you are putting that ahead of some actual analysis. Is the litigation winnable? I have no clue - maybe you guys do - but are those products very very confusable from a form factor and especially interface point of view, absolutely.

    

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8.  

   

   A Man, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 2:17pm

   
   

   Re:

   by Anonymous Coward on Oct 17th, 2006 @ 11:20am
   XM and Sirius dont have the revenue to waist on this as of now and I do believe they are joining forces to try to save them selves
   
   Why don't you try to spell properly.
   More to the point, why don't you just shut the fuck-up.

    

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9.  

   

   Mad Troller, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 2:32pm

   
   

   Another Waste of Breath

   Sounds reminiscent of Apple and Microsoft when MS went to GUI with "desktop" concept. And now we are all stuck in a MS world that continues to ratchet down on us with things like license management... it is ok to copy files so long as you have paid extra for their device - whatever! So what's next... pay for internet content based on subject? This might seem off-subject, but it all goes back to Microsoft and Wal-Mart driving out the competition and building their monopoly! Let's all get smart and not be caught standing in line like starving refugees - spend a few extra dollars, suck up the crappy quality, and buy from the competitor. hehe.

    

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10.  

    

    Excellent Point, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 3:16pm

    
    

    Re:

    Exactly... they need to expand the entire category. If satellite radio doesn't grow as a category, both XM and Sirius will be SOL.

     

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11.  

    

    Sohrab, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 4:01pm

    
    

    wow. this article makes me sick

     

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12.  

    

    Ford Truck/Miata Man, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 4:44pm

    
    

    Re: Missing the point

    Ford owns Mazda... so they _could_ sue, but would be even more of a resource waste than that which the article describes.

     

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13.  

    

    Annoying Bastard, Oct 17th, 2006 @ 4:58pm

    
    

    Re: Another Waste of Breath

    " ...spend a few extra dollars, suck up the crappy quality, and buy from the competitor. hehe."
    
    You must be a mac user.
    
    I think companies should start doing really petty things in these IP battles; like remove all the locations of stores that only sell their competitors products from their databases.

     

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14.  

    

    waban star, Jul 30th, 2007 @ 7:34am

    
    

    Tom Tom units were much better designed from an aesthetic standpoint and it was obvious that as well that garmin copied the tom tom look and feel. The real question is who has the better electronics or software.

     

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