Apple Apple Apple

So two bits of news that made me angry and happy. You can guess which way round: Firstly, Apple shareprice is down 20% from its all-time high in Sept of $705. This marks a $138bn loss in its value. Some people are saying that its because Apple cannot meet the demand for their products and others are saying that investors' sentiment towards the company is generally changing due to slower earnings growth and managment changes.

Secondly, Apple have managed to win possibly the MOST contentious patent awarded recently. Yes, the 'Rectangle with Rounded Corners' patent has been awarded to them. "Previous design patents on the iPad and iPhone have included at least one additional feature in solid lines — like the home button, the back surface contour, the bezel shape, the side profile, or the edge-to-edge screen. This one ignores all of that and simply focuses on the shape of that peripheral edge. It's a broad patent. Really broad. Granted, an argument can be made that the horizontal and vertical lengths of the solid edge line in the drawings limits the patent coverage to a specific proportional design that excludes tablets with different aspect ratios, but you wouldn't want that to be your primary defense..." I'm sorry, but Apple are really starting to grind my gears...

[VIA]