To our surprise, the „PatentGate“ story, first revealed by Dan Wineman, ignited a true blogosphere frenzy. The New York Times, TUAW, The Register, TechCrunch, GigaOM, n-tv and heise online are just a few among the many commentators (see below) of the story.
Most of them came to the conclusion that the patent itself wouldn‘t steal any of Where To?’s design or functionality. Nilay Patel over at Engadget explains:
The only operative parts of a patent are the claims. (…) If it’s not in the claims, it’s not in the patent.
Indeed, when looking through the claims 1-21, there’s no evidence of anything close to Where To?‘s functionality. Our patent attorney confirmed this. The claims of this patent application are actually pretty narrow with the core invention being a method that detects the arrival of a traveler based on the itinerary and the fact that the device was turned off and turned back on again, and then sending out some sort of arrival notification.
The confusion arose from Apple’s including a 1:1 copy of the Where To? start screen in the detailed description (which basically sets the context of the invention).
Anand Sethuraman, Senior Patent Counsel at Apple, came back to our enquiry and explains in an email:
As discussed, Apple is contemplating steps to attribute the screenshot in the patent application to FutureTap. The patent application in question does not claim as inventive the pictured user interface nor the general concept of an integrated travel services application. We appreciate your taking time out to discuss the matter and will keep you updated.
So the use of the Where To? screenshot is not an offense in any way but merely an illustration that apps such as Where To? could make use of the invention. We feel honored over this mention and appreciate that Apple is looking into a proper attribution of the screenshot. In retrospective, I can say we wouldn‘t ever have considered the story alarming had the screenshot included a short attribution notice.
Looking back, I’m thankful for the great support of the community. We received a lot of good advice and many readers sympathized. Only the Apple haters who chimed in with their „Apple is evil“ attitude have been proven wrong now. I also read a few aggressive (mostly anonymous) feedback comments that called to boycott us because of our inability in understanding patent law. It’s true, we had no clue of patent law, the US one in particular. We learned a lot the last few days. Yet, my response to those boycotteurs:
Do you prefer developers who love reading patents over the ones who love to design user interfaces?
Nevertheless, I truly apologize if we stepped on anyone‘s feet. And now, let‘s go back to work.
macworld.com: The Macalope Weekly: An appointment with disappointment
macrumors.com: Controversy Over Apple Travel Patent Application
cultofmac.com: Apple Submits Software Patent For Other Developer’s App, Including Title And Design
gizmodo.com: Did Apple Slip An Existing Third-Party App Into A Patent Application?
148apps.com: Apple Patent Laziness
minyanville.com: Apple Accused of Ripping Off Third-Party iPhone Apps
crunchgear.com: Apple Knocks Off Existing App For Patent Application
technovia.co.uk: No, Apple isn’t patenting developers’ work. But it still has a bigger problem
tipb.com: Regarding Apple including 3rd party app screens in 1st party app patent filings
ipodnn.com: Apple plagiarizing others’ work in patent diagrams?
appadvice.com: Is Apple Trying To Rip-off Another Developer’s App?
computerworld.com: Apple “steals” iPhone app ideas and patents them (and lightsabers)
mosspuppet.com: Regarding the Apple/FutureTap patent Controversy
tnooz.com: Patently similar — Where To asks Apple how come?
craveonline.com: Is Apple Evil? Apple Patents Existing Third-Party App Design
conceivablytech.com: New Apple Patent, Someone Gets Fired Edition
brianericford.tumblr.com: Untitled
mrgan.tumblr.com: Whence
iphone-ticker.de: Apple-Patente: HighTech-Fahrrad und Interface-Klau
macnews.de: Apple patentiert App einer anderen Firma
maclife.de: Apple illustriert eigene Patentanmeldungen mit existierenden Apps
iphone-notes.de: Apple Patentanmeldung mit “Where To?” UI
macnotes.de: “Wohin?”-Startscreen in Apple-Patentantrag als Beispiel-Interface
intern.de: Apple schützt Apps per Patent
gamestar.de: Apple – Patentantrag mit geklauten Ideen?
computerbase.de: Lässt Apple sich von fremden Apps inspirieren?
iphonekult.de: Kurios: Apple will Patent anmelden – doch das Design gibt es schon
iphone-news.org: Patentiert Apple eine App einer anderen Firma?
touch-mania.com: Gar nicht cool: Apple klaut Interface von 3rd Party App
pcgames.de: App-Entwickler Futuretap: “Apple hat uns bestohlen!”
benm.at: News Mix: MacBook Air, Patente, iPhone CDMA, iPhone-Chef verlässt Apple
der-softwareentwickler-blog.de: Apple klaut Skizzen für Patentanmeldung
iphoneitalia.com: Apple imita le applicazioni presenti in AppStore e ne fa dei brevetti?
melablog.it: Il curioso caso del brevetto Apple che copia Dove?
punto-informatico.it: Se Apple brevetta le applicazioni altrui
macworld.fr: Quand Apple copie illégalement une application…
igeneration.fr: Apple: patent troll?
journaldugeek.com: Les photocopieuses d’Apple
macplus.net: Une photocopieuse aussi chez Apple ?
businessmobile.fr: Apple utilise des captures d’applications tierces dans un brevet
iphonezine.fr: La photocopieuse d’Apple est très efficace!
gizmodo.jp: ガビョ～ン、うちの iPhone アプリがアップルの特許申請に出てしまってる！
macotakara.jp: MACお宝鑑定団 blog（羅針盤
techwave.jp: iPhoneアプリのアイディア、アップルが勝手に特許申請?
iphoneclub.nl: Apple-patent voor iTravel bevat schetsen van bestaande apps
gazeta.pl: Apple umieścił interfejs cudzej aplikacji w swoim patencie
marcialcambronero.com: Podcast 1: “Apple vs. Where To?” (español)
genbeta.com: Apple plagió de la AppStore las aplicaciones que patentó sobre viajes y moda
iphonehellas.gr: Τρεις νέες πατέντες της Apple: Travel, Hotel, High-fashion Shopping
mobil.nu: Apple stjæler patent fra app-partner