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Chinese Knockoff Maker With A Sense Of Humor Files Design Patent On Leaked iPhone 5 Design
from the joke's-on-you dept
crashsuit alerts us to the bizarre story that a Chinese phone knockoff maker, who took some supposed "leaked" photos of the still unannounced iPhone 5 and not only produced a knockoff device called the Goophone I5 (running Android, naturally), but also is claiming to already have a Chinese patent on the design.
Of course, we've talked about Chinese manufacturers creating rather interesting mashups of phone ideas by ignoring patent, trademark and copyright laws (sometimes all at once!). And the decision to file for a design patent is made that much more amusing when you consider how design patents were at the center of some of Apple's big case against Samsung (for the non-patent nerds out there, design patents are a bit different than what most people traditionally think of as patents, and some actually suggest that they're really closer to trademarks than "patents" in that they really just cover a basic design look and feel, rather than a method or process).
That said, the details of this "Chinese patent" are a bit sketchy. Was it just applied for? Or granted? No one seems to be saying. It could just be a joke. That said, we've been noting for quite some time that while the US has been pushing China to respect patents a lot more (due to lobbying pressure from US companies), China has been mocking them all by suddenly "enforcing" patents much more stringently... but almost always against foreign companies and to benefit Chinese competitors. So, it's not completely crazy to suggest that a Chinese company might be able to secure such a patent and use it to stop Apple, though it would take a fair amount of chutzpah (or whatever the Chinese equivalent is) to make such a claim.
That said, the details of this "Chinese patent" are a bit sketchy. Was it just applied for? Or granted? No one seems to be saying. It could just be a joke. That said, we've been noting for quite some time that while the US has been pushing China to respect patents a lot more (due to lobbying pressure from US companies), China has been mocking them all by suddenly "enforcing" patents much more stringently... but almost always against foreign companies and to benefit Chinese competitors. So, it's not completely crazy to suggest that a Chinese company might be able to secure such a patent and use it to stop Apple, though it would take a fair amount of chutzpah (or whatever the Chinese equivalent is) to make such a claim.
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I can see the lawsuit coming already, from apple
The irony is that it's entirely possible the chinese company could produce something more functional than apple, since chinese cellphones tend to do exactly that in the first place.
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Re: I can see the lawsuit coming already, from apple
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Re:
Yes, the US patent system is broken, on purpose.
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Chutzpah
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Re: Chutzpah
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Re: Chutzpah
How about 硬化湯圓
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Re: Re: Chutzpah
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Girlish glee
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Chutzpah?
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Not to mention I would be happy to support anything that annoys the big names such as Apple and Microsoft.
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Re:
I even got a tablet once. It had buttons beneath the LED screen, (under the lighting element), and of course claimed to be "touch-screen". More like "click on the grid of hidden buttons screen". They're really terrible, cheap and flimsy devices held together mostly with spit, and a loose fold here and there.
I'd buy one if it was likely to be any good, the idea of an Android clone of the iPhone is pretty cool. But none of these devices are as good as the consumer grade crap that ships to American big-box stores. And none of the devices I've seen even have real Android versions running on them.
They are called knockoffs for a reason.
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Re: Re:
If there quality control is improved and they spend just that little bit more time in designing the devices they can and do compete with the best on sale everywhere.
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Re: Re: Re:
Ainol
Eken
Onda
RAmos
Teclast
there are others, but its amazing how far some of these chinese makers have come, Onda has been well known for years for their media players, Ainol, RAmos and Teclast as well....
I got a buddy an onda android tab that was one of the first in the world to get a working port of ICS its working great to this day....and its better in some ways then my touch pad.....(and was cheaper).....main way being its working well with a 64gb microsd card......(no slot on touchpad).....
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Poetic justice
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First to File!
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Re:
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I say:
Mmmmm... tummy hungry too.
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Ha ha
Me no joke
Me shove IP down your throat.
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Please please please
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Re: Please please please
http://www.amazon.com/Unlocked-Android-Capacitive-T-mobile-networks/dp/B007TR4ON6
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goophone
Just like our patent laws.
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New knockoff
http://www.youtube.com/user/ashens?nomobile=1
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what's sauce for the goose...
art guerrilla
aka ann archy
eof
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Apple can just use a different design, like other manufacturers; The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X doesn't infringe, for example. Neither does the Siemens C10.
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