And, In Conclusion, We Also Just Don't Like Them

from the how-about-competing? dept

Tue, Oct 17th 2006 10:04am — Mike Masnick

Remember the days when competition meant that you fought your competitors out in the market for customers, and you won them over by, you know, offering a better product or deal (or at least convincing customers that was so)? These days, it seems like everyone just wants a monopoly, and the best way to do that is to compete in the courtroom rather than the market. Engadget highlights the ongoing legal battle between GPS navigator makers Garmin and TomTom. It appears that the two companies already have a bunch of patent lawsuits filed against each other in an ongoing attempt to waste plenty of money in court. However, the latest is that, on top of all of the patent disputes (and there are many), TomTom has filed another lawsuit against Garmin not for patent infringement, but for "copying the look and feel of its devices." They're navigation devices. How much variation does anyone really expect? Of course, they're going to look vaguely similar. Why not just compete on actual features, benefits and value? Apparently that's just too hard. Next thing you know, the pizza place down the street will sue the one around the corner for copying its triangular shaped slice idea. It's a big market out there, and there's plenty to compete on. Wasting each others' time and money in court doesn't help anyone (other than the lawyers, of course).

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

14 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Steve E, 17 Oct 2006 @ 10:37am

Sometimes wiping out your competitors gives you a better position in the market than coming up with the 'next big thing'. Easy to see why these companies are at loggerheads.

That's not to say I condone these practices, but it is natural and won't stop happening. Apple/Creative have been at it for ages over the navigation system in MP3 players too.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- BS, 17 Oct 2006 @ 11:21am
  
  Re:
  Great insight ... remove the competiiton and you have more of the market? Really?
  
  And i would not say it's natural ... the only thing natural is eating / sleeping and, well, a couple of other things .... it is probably less costly (in their minds) to try and build a monopoly through a catalogue of patents then to compete with smart (ehtical) business moves.
  
  I think it's cowardly, and exposes them as lazy. But then again, where is the line between stealling and competing? see Microsoft's Zune ...
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
TriZz, 17 Oct 2006 @ 11:11am

I'm changing my occupation...
...from geek to patent attorney.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Oct 2006 @ 11:14am

This is so asinine. Why don't XM and sirius have the same problems (maybe they do and I missed it)?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 17 Oct 2006 @ 11:20am

XM and Sirius dont have the revenue to waist on this as of now and I do believe they are joining forces to try to save them selves
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- A Man, 17 Oct 2006 @ 2:17pm
  
  Re:
  by Anonymous Coward on Oct 17th, 2006 @ 11:20am
  XM and Sirius dont have the revenue to waist on this as of now and I do believe they are joining forces to try to save them selves
  
  Why don't you try to spell properly.
  More to the point, why don't you just shut the fuck-up.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Excellent Point, 17 Oct 2006 @ 3:16pm
  
  Re:
  Exactly... they need to expand the entire category. If satellite radio doesn't grow as a category, both XM and Sirius will be SOL.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
iRule, 17 Oct 2006 @ 11:23am

With the pizza analogy....
That actually happened. Lil Caesars actually sued Pizza Hut and Dominos Pizza (unsuccessfully) when both competitors initially came out with square shaped pizza pieces. This happens. You'd certainly hope it would drive innovation, but sometimes it just drives up court costs, the cost of operating businesses, and the costs passed on to the consumers. Terrible.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Steve Portigal, 17 Oct 2006 @ 2:06pm

Missing the point
Wait, so any two things that perform the same function can't have unique design features? Sennheiser can't sue Shure, because "they're both microphones, how different could their look and feel be?" Ford can't sue Mazda because "they're both cars, how different could their look and feel be?" What about eCommerce sites, ATMs, portable music players? Don't they have brand-specific, designed identities and approaches to performing their tasks? Comes off a bit like just bluster without thought, and it's disappointing because I really enjoy and appreciate your attitude most of the time. Here it reads as if you are putting that ahead of some actual analysis. Is the litigation winnable? I have no clue - maybe you guys do - but are those products very very confusable from a form factor and especially interface point of view, absolutely.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Ford Truck/Miata Man, 17 Oct 2006 @ 4:44pm
  
  Re: Missing the point
  Ford owns Mazda... so they _could_ sue, but would be even more of a resource waste than that which the article describes.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mad Troller, 17 Oct 2006 @ 2:32pm

Another Waste of Breath
Sounds reminiscent of Apple and Microsoft when MS went to GUI with "desktop" concept. And now we are all stuck in a MS world that continues to ratchet down on us with things like license management... it is ok to copy files so long as you have paid extra for their device - whatever! So what's next... pay for internet content based on subject? This might seem off-subject, but it all goes back to Microsoft and Wal-Mart driving out the competition and building their monopoly! Let's all get smart and not be caught standing in line like starving refugees - spend a few extra dollars, suck up the crappy quality, and buy from the competitor. hehe.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Annoying Bastard, 17 Oct 2006 @ 4:58pm
  
  Re: Another Waste of Breath
  " ...spend a few extra dollars, suck up the crappy quality, and buy from the competitor. hehe."
  
  You must be a mac user.
  
  I think companies should start doing really petty things in these IP battles; like remove all the locations of stores that only sell their competitors products from their databases.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Sohrab, 17 Oct 2006 @ 4:01pm

wow. this article makes me sick
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
waban star, 30 Jul 2007 @ 7:34am

Tom Tom units were much better designed from an aesthetic standpoint and it was obvious that as well that garmin copied the tom tom look and feel. The real question is who has the better electronics or software.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]