[Macworld]

Post your comments for Apple aims to patent IM features on iPhone here

[elCapiton]

Argh, why do they have to patent everything? IM has been around so long I don't see how they think they can patent it on the iPhone. Also that would possibly stop other IM clients on the iPhone.

[danviento]

Irrelevant.
People use regular IM through web apps on the iPhone and iPod Touch all the time. The sites aren't blocked by carriers, and certainly not by WiFi. Carriers have nothing to worry about, at least with anyone who has cared to try AIM instead of SMS.
Whether the new Chat app will keeps IM and SMS seperate is still under question, so maybe they can retain SMS services. Personally, I'd prefer to see text charges fall by the wayside, and the iPhone would be a good vehicle to start such a change, as it did for the affordable unlimited data fees.

[adobephile]

Silly question. If you were in Apple's shoes, you'd be patenting everything you could, too.

If you don't protect your rights you lose them.

[elCapiton]

No it's not, you can't patent obvious things like IM. There's nothing novel about patenting IM on a phone so why even bother. It's all been done before. The US patent office is notoriously bad at granting patents for obvious ideas.

[Tut]

Apple is not patenting IM, only a method of using IM on an iPhone.
Check pictures at: http://www.appleinsi...cle.php?id=3981

[adobephile]

elCapiton said:

No it's not, you can't patent obvious things like IM. There's nothing novel about patenting IM on a phone so why even bother. It's all been done before. The US patent office is notoriously bad at granting patents for obvious ideas.

Time for a logic check, there. The fact that Apple is applying for a patent would imply to me that they have something NEW to patent. There is such a thing as innovation, after all, and Apple's been rather busy at it recently.

[Steve_S]

elCapiton said:

No it's not, you can't patent obvious things like IM. There's nothing novel about patenting IM on a phone so why even bother. It's all been done before. The US patent office is notoriously bad at granting patents for obvious ideas.

Ideas aren't patented, specific implementations are. Broad concepts are one thing, but the difference between any two products is how well the concept is implemented. Do you know what struggles Apple had to deal with in their design? Are you aware of the innovations they may have added? No? So, why bash them before you know anything about what they're actually doing?

[elCapiton]

Not always. See all the patent trolls who have patents for ridiculous things and sue other companies. I'm not saying Apple would do that but from the drawings it just looks like iChat.

[elCapiton]

And from the patent itself it looks like they're trying to patent the GUI for displaying a list of messages between two people. The invention includes showing messages from one person on the left and the other person on the right. Sorry but there's really nothing novel about the whole thing. Yes it may be better than the other GUIs in existence but still, I wouldn't call it a novel invention
http://appft1.uspto....=DN/20080055269

[DisabledTrucker]

All I want to know is when Skype is going to come to the iPod Touch/iPhone... then it will be worth something to me...