More irritatingly, however, has been Apple’s heavy-handed anti-competitive policies in the mobile arena. Apple is lucky enough to own a few incredibly vague, broad patents, which make it incredibly difficult to innovate in the field of smartphones. Android was incredibly reluctant to include any multitouch in the earliest flavors of Android, lest Apple file an angry lawsuit against them.
Indeed, Apple recently filed a couple of lawsuits against HTC, alleging more than 20 infringements of patents as vague as “Object-Oriented Graphic Systems,” “Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An Unlock Image,” and other similar patents. These lawsuits have essentially been aimed at Android, using HTC as nothing but a proxy. It’s just a very ham-fisted way of trying to limit competition.
