The iPhone Has Very Little New Technology: So Why Does Apple Need 200 Patents?

Mike Masnick over at Techdirt picks up the old invention vs. innovation debate and how it applies to the iPhone. So, does that mean that Apple's 200 patents surrounding the iPhone are unnecessary? Or even unjustified?

According to Masnick's line of argument, invention is the process of actually developing something novel and completely new. On the other hand, innovation is the process of taking a new (or existing) technology and making it useful for the public.

Apple under the leadership of Steve Jobs has been a leader in innovation. Apple didn't invent the MP3 player; they just innovated it and made it mainstream. Ditto with the Mac and graphical user interfaces. Apple is incredibly good at making technology chic, easy, and, most importantly, fun-to-use.

So what about those 200 patents? Does Apple's success at innovation give it the right to patent all this innovation of existing technology? Critics of the U.S. intellectual property law system would argue no. They claim that the rewards of the market -- i.e. strong product sales -- are incentive enough.

Others would claim that both inventors and innovators need patents to give them a profit incentive to invent or innovate. Without these patents, competitors would quickly copy the new ideas and steal any reward the industrious pioneers might have seized from their hard work.

Going further, some defenders of the current patent process would go so far to argue that it is nearly impossible to distinguish between invention and innovation, at least from the perspective of the market.

Apple to launch video service in Europe

Apple, which launched its online video service in the United States 15 months ago, is about to take its first step into conquering the European market, Luxembourg's economy minister said.

"Apple is going to extend its electronic retail activities in Luxembourg by launching this coming spring its iTunes video platform for the sale of videos in Europe," Jeannot Krecke told AFP, confirming press reports.

According to Krecke, Apple bosses have been in discussion "for several months" with Luxembourg authorities on the implementation of the system.

"It will provide full-length television series in various European countries," he said, without providing any more details of the plan.

In 2005 Apple opened its iTunes Music Store in Luxembourg, the European platform for its online music sales. The group chose the tiny country as VAT is relatively low here for online services by European standards.

The highest rate in Luxembourg is 15 percent, as opposed to 19.5 percent in France, for example.

Luxembourg already hosts a string of world leaders in e-commerce for the same reason, with US giants such as Amazon and AOL among those that have set up their European operations here.

Investigators questioned Apple's Jobs

Apple (AAPL) Chief Executive Steve Jobs was questioned by U.S. investigators about stock options backdating at the company, according to several reports citing unidentified lawyers.

The company behind the popular iPod digital media player has said it is under investigation by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission for its past option-grant practices.

Jobs was questioned by federal investigators in San Francisco last week, according to reports by the San Francisco Chronicle and Bloomberg, citing unidentified legal sources.

Jobs' attorney, Mark Pomerantz, declined to comment on the reports. Apple and the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco were not immediately available.

Macworld Predictions from a Former Apple Executive

teve Jobs has no interest in an Apple tablet computer. A cell phone is probable, and a perfect product for Apple's current strategy, but based on an executive briefing with customers in which Steve Jobs was present, a former Apple sales executive claimed that Mr. Jobs doesn't believe Apple should pursue the tablet computer market. That was just one of many observations published at The Guardian on Thursday.