Firstly, I have doubts about Apple's claims. It's become somewhat fashionable to craft patents that try to define functions as inventions. Rather than patent an invention that picks up a rock and places it in a bucket, some dubious patents seek to patent the act of picking up the rock and placing it in the bucket in an effort to either (a) corner a market completely or (b) generate as many lawsuits as possible. I'm not specifically accusing Apple of this, but because this patent trolling nonsense has become so common lately I am now a patent skeptic.
Many game hardware companies, including our cherished Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have been victims of patent trolls, and this is certainly an issue that game consumers should be concerned about.
I think that it's time for patent reform, because the current system is abused on a worldwide basis. In the US, cases can drag out for years, and settlement is usually the only realistic option for victims.
One of the big problems is that many patents are too vague. Patents should be specific, and a working prototype should be a requirement for a successful patent application.
Patent holders should also meet a deadline by which the invention is being produced by the patent holder or licensed for production to one or more 3rd parties. There should be none of this nonsense where a patent holder sits on a patent with no intention of ever producing or licensing it in the hope of winning easy money in a patent lawsuit. Obviously, this isn't the case with Apple, since they are a successfull hardware manufacturer, but there are many forms of patent abuse.
On a sidenote, when I first saw the thread title, I thought that Apple had declared war on Mario. My initial reaction was, "bring it".
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