Google Follows Apple In Unnecessarily Pulling App That Allowed A Little Girl To Speak
from the sad dept
We've written a few times about the unfortunate saga of 4-year-old Maya Nieder and her mother, Dana. Due to a ridiculous patent dispute, the one thing that allows Maya to speak -- an app called "Speak for Yourself" -- may get shut down. Back in June we were disappointed that, despite no request for an injunction, Apple decided to pull the app in question from its iOS store, citing the ongoing lawsuit. Maya can continue to use it for now, but it could go away and they wouldn't be able to get it back. Many people in our comments suggested that SfY should release an Android app. And they did... but a recent update from Dana notes that Google removed the app from its Play store as well, per the request of Prentke Romich Company & Semantic Compaction Systems (the patent holder and licensee suing SfY). While it's much easier to install 3rd party apps on Android devices without going through the Play Store, it's still surprising and disappointing that Google would join Apple in pulling this app before there's been any official ruling on the matter.In the meantime, Dana also points out that PRC -- who didn't have an iOS app itself through all of this -- has finally released one in the iTunes store. Even though this seems ridiculous -- since they were able to shut down the competition and now have a clearer playing field -- Dana celebrates this entrance into the market because making more of these apps available can only help speech-challenged people speak. And, in the end, shouldn't that be the overriding concern?
She also mentions that the two sides met for court-ordered mediation, and asked the court to stay the case for 30 days to continue the process. So there's some hope for a settlement allowing the SfY app to live on. Either way, it's yet another example of companies using (often questionable) patents to cause real harm, rather than spreading innovation and helping people.
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Filed Under: assistance, patents, speaking
Companies: apple, google, prentke romich company, semantic compaction systems, speak for yourself
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An advantage of Android
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Re: An advantage of Android
This is for Dana Meider Directly.
Depending on Maya's condition, if you wish to continue using an iPad interface she is used to, try BitTorrent (http://www.bittorrent.com/) to upload "Speak For Yourself"'s .ipa file into the device without iTunes and without Jailbreaking the device. I used it when a game of mine I loved to play was "temporarily" pulled from the App store.
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Re: Re: An advantage of Android
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Re: An advantage of Android
I really find it despicable that Apple and Google would so easily cave when there have been no judgements made in this case at all. Cowards!
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Re: Re: An advantage of Android
They have way too stringent of requirements in many cases to put things in their stores and pull apps for the stupidest of reasons regularly.
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Re: Re: An advantage of Android
They don't even need to supply instructions beyond "click here to install".
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Re: Re: Re: An advantage of Android
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Re: An advantage of Android
For me it isn't, it just doesn't work.
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Slowly your interesting view of the world is coming into view Mike.
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I personally feel that way too many things are patentable today. Complete software and hardware packages, fine.
Piecemeal software and hardware patents, hell no!
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(until it can be scrapped)
period. fixed that for you.
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^^^
IDK about Mike but there's quite a few people on this site (including myself) who'd stop right here and say "Yes".
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It should be fully examined, torn down and what little there was in it that was actually of benefit to society could then form the core of a new system.
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Quoted for truth.
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Another angle is for governments to start evoking eminent domain or imposing public domain on intangible property. I'm specifically referring to life-changing or life-saving drugs and devices. Generic AIDS drugs in Africa. Generic poke-a-word communication tablet interfaces.
First, the US Constitution says "to promote the progress of the useful arts and sciences," not "to guarantee profits to creators." Second, the tools of copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret law are not the only tools that can apply to this sort of situation.
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You are missing the point. Let me inform you about Autism. It works on many levels in a spectrum.
Maya's brain cannot process verbal communication like you or I can. She can receive verbal communcation and understand them quite well, but she cannot process the proper way to give an output response verbally. She relies on Speak For Yourself and is very used to it's interface.
The claim isn't coming from Apple nor is it from Google. Apple and Google just pulled the app out of concern of their own legal skin...note it doesn't make it right that they did. So because of a patent "infringement" case where a company claims rights over two lines of code that make the program function the way Maya's autistic brain is used to, she no longer has access to the app if it updates.
Does it make it right at all to pull a patent claim lawsuit over bits of coded software and GUI that allow an autistic child to talk and communicate quickly and sufficiently in her own words using said code nd interface?
Not one bit!!!
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I would say never. Never should a company's profits or IP come before filling such crucial needs. The real problem is that the greedy companies behind the patents don't want to offer their product for fair and reasonable prices and they will punish anyone that does it in their stead.
Personally I think such companies should receive severe penalties for this kind of persecution. Your profits are not more important than people and helping those in need with such a critical tool.
We are not talking about a product that no one needs like a smartphone. We are not talking about entertainment like movies and music. We are talking about something that these kids really can't live without. Not without greatly diminishing their quality of life.
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What kind of country can an autistic child be denied such a benefit over profits... the same kind of country that says cures for diseases can be patent-protected, that free healthcare is an evil socialist ideal.
Funnily enough they're happy to benefit from free soldiers, free police forces, free fire services, free roads, free garbage disposal... but free healthcare? No, that's for those dirty commies.
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The holy 'Patent System' is not a Moral Code. It's a set of laws.
He's saying that a legal construct is bad and needs to be discarded or revised.
This is one more example of how the holy patent system is bad.
In fact, he didn't say it should be ignored.
In fact, he said that Apple and Android are pre-emptively pulling the app, before it has even been decided whether the holy patent system has even been infracted.
Your interesting view of the world (and your reading comprehension) is coming into view quite rapidly.
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Yeah. Got a problem with that?
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Your interesting view of the world is readily apparent.
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She could, for instance, write in a public domain calligraphy font, attach the note to a passenger pigeon and wait for the response.
In fact, this is a field ripe for innovation since there are very few public domain calligraphy fonts not yet apprehended and passenger pigeons have been extinct for a while.
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Can't have it both ways, Mike...
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Re: Can't have it both ways, Mike...
Your making the assumption that SfY is actually violating the patent. The other company has alleged that they have, but have not proven that yet. which is the whole argument here. SfY was pulled BEFORE infringement is proven, Guilty until proven innocent.
If SfY is violating a patent, fine, pull the app.... AFTER the ruling.
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Re: Re: Can't have it both ways, Mike...
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Re: Can't have it both ways, Mike...
Reasonable settlement?
That's funny.
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Web interface should be the next step
Think about it. With the web interface they will never have to deal with this app store BS ever again. I bet they can do it and even constantly add improvements. That would be amazing.
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Re: Web interface should be the next step
A better choice would be to avoid iOS altogether and use a platform that doesn't limit what you're allowed to do with it.
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This is an example of why I think that Apple's walled garden is a bad choice for consumers to make. It's seductive in that it succeeds in what it's trying to do: make it an "appliance" that can be reasonably used by people who don't know or care about how to use the technology.
The problem is that sooner or later (and usually sooner), the naive user is no longer naive and has a better understanding. At that point they discover that the walled garden is a prison.
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security asylum....
As the walled garden in concerned, I think the only real walled garden is in development. As a user though, I can tell you that consumer-wise, you don't need iTunes to upload apps to your devices. As I said, I had to use BitTorrent to upload stuff that was "temporarily" out of iTunes. :-) Any app file in .ipa format can be uploaded via BitTorrent, no ROM-ing, rooting, or Jailbreaking involved :-)
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Ebenezer would be proud
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Ebenezer would be proud
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patents
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Re: patents
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Re: patents
Interesting. Not a single comment here has argued this, why are you raising it as a point? Unless you think that it's impossible to get a financial return on development unless you have a patent, but that's just silliness.
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Your work could allow a child to communicate, but unless you are rewarded you won't allow it?
You could dive into a river and save someone from drowning, but unless you are rewarded you ...?
You could help that dying person on the other side of the road but if you don't see any reward in it for you...?
If your profit or lack of profit is dependent on denying something basic to a human being, then yes, you have no particular right to profit regardless of how much work you have done or what risks you have taken.
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This is why I prefer Android to iOS
which is why I prefer Android to iOS. If an app gets removed, workarounds are easy. Or to paraphrase the great Cory Doctorow: "I trust Google as little as I trust Apple or Microsoft. But the Android OS--when compared to iOS and Windows Phone 7--requires the least amount of trust." Thanks, Google!
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I know, by reading Maya's mom's blog, that she's not on the autism spectrum - and I just found it surprising that this was the assumption of most of these commenters even though there was no mention of the reason for her speech impairment in the article.
If I hadn't known about it, I think a physical condition like cerebral palsy might have been my first "guess" - but perhaps it's the increase in communication device users on the autism spectrum (and the media coverage) that does it :-)
In all cases, and no matter the condition, it's nice that awareness of alternative communication is brought to the public's attention :-)
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Patents and Copyrights...!!!
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About Autistics
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Maya
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