When Apple tried to patent a few iPhone apps and processing, a lot of stink was being raised because the company used an existing app’s art (a 1:1 reproduction) when it filed. The situation has been resolved amicably, the makers of Where To? said.
The patent regarded around sending out arrival notices to Apple iPhone users who were traveling but it used the layout of the Where To? app without any attribution. The patent itself does not duplicate the functionality of the app at all.
Apple’s senior patent lawyer said:
As discussed, Apple is contemplating steps to attribute the screenshot in the patent application to FutureTap [makers of Where To?]. 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.
Essentially, the Apple patent would be usable by third-party apps like Where To? but the application process may have sent a chilling message to developers, who may have thought Apple is jumping into the app game and not caring who it takes out. That doesn’t appear to be the case.
Don’t get me wrong, Apple is more than willing to snatch up a developer or service if it thinks it can improve its iPhone experience. It reportedly spent about $200 million to acquire Siri, a voice-controlled personal assistant. This should eventually work its way into the Apple iPhone operating system to provide a good voice-software experience out of the box.
Developers have a love-hate relationship with Apple. The Apple iPhone has been the most successful mobile app store we’ve seen and Apple has paid out over $1 billion to developers. On the other hand, the company is derided by some devs because it restricts what tools you can use to create programs and it will reject apps for arbitrary reasons.
[Via FutureTap]