Patents are not Trademarks. Patents are valid and legal even if you don't enforce them (where trademarks become invalid if you don't enforce them).
So no, they did have a choice. In fact, they had 3:
1. They could have not gotten the patent at all. This could open them up to legal liability if someone else got it and sued them.
2. They could have kept it for defensive purposes only. Using it if they were sued for patent abuse (and to prevent others from suing on this idea).
3. They could use it offensively.
They chose #3. So yes, they did have a choice.
Additionally, I love your choice of words for the final sentence:
> What would've you done to protect ideas you spent years refining?
I think it hits the key point. They didn't invent the vast majority of what they are suing over. They just refined it. They didn't invent multi-touch, they just polished it. Now, whether that polish is worth a patent is one thing, but the concept is not.
And that's the absurdity of it all. This is not about protecting invention. This is not about protecting innovation. It's about protecting market position.
And if there's a clearer abuse of the patent system than this, I'd love to see it...
and this is what I call abuse of system. Just look at the patents mentioned in the link. Something that paul or its company was not even remotely associated. http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/microsoft-co-founder-paul...
You mean the way that iOS 3, 4, 5 and 6 have stolen things from Android? Hell, the Book position sync thing that they introduced today copies from Android (and likely the Kindle).
Stop it with the FUD about this. The two phones are rectangular with rounded corners. Since when is that protected design? Look at the automobile market. Models are not distinguished by a generic look and feel, but by very very specific design details. None of which were copied between the devices.
Show me ONE major Apple feature that wasn't copied from someone else. The entire product is a culmination of ideas and innovation from others. Multi-touch? Done before. Large screen? Done. Icons? Done. Multi-Tasking? Don't even kid yourself. Notifications? Really?
What they did, and where their value is, is not in the concepts or innovation. It's in the level of polish that they apply. That's their competitive advantage.
And their legal battles are proof that they cannot compete on any other front other than polish. And since Android has been making leaps and bounds of improvements over the years, it's been threatening Apple's competitive advantage. And that's why Apple is suing.
It's the ultimate instance of the pot calling the kettle black.
And about this very article, it is just not correct. Invalidating patents take years. Article like this surface the internet just before any big apple event.
Because they've done it electronically, they've unfortunately been granted patents to design principles that are quite ancient. If this is allowed it sets a bad precedent.
I don't know why people build so much of hate for big corporates. Samsung is no different. If you see number of patents Samsung holds, you will be stunned. And most of them are something they never even implemented in their software remotely.
I could probably see many things in iOS/the iPhone worth patenting, but this is not one of them.
I'm not against Apple, I'm against ALL useless patents like this and probably many of Samsungs'.
There is all this hype that "Apple is Bad because they sued Samsung". But considering everything, they had no other choice legally. They had to make a case on some grounds, and these 5-6 patents were the only patents they can sue on. What would've you done to protect ideas you spent years refining?