Meizu in Trouble - Raided by German Police

Unregistered

Engadget gave us a good example of how to spread false reports (not to say propaganda against meizu) and everyone wrote their 'news' without a proof of the truth.
They are indeed an apple- fanclub.

SteveMB93

I hear them complain about the MacBook Air, and they should because there is absolutely no reason to defend it. I NEVER hear them complaining about the iPhone, and I read Engadget everyday. I mentioned SDK because you said that Apple is always on time. Remember when Engadget falsely reported that Meizu stole that artwork? Did we ever hear an apology? Engadget ALWAYS disses Meizu. How often do you read Engadget that you can't even tell that they love Apple?

DusL

Perhaps they just love out long wait and would respect a less GUI-"inspired" phone from a company that has a less Apple-"inspired" past. I mean, ripping the GUI off isn't really mustering respect and we saw those screenies months ago (september or something?)

I'm not saying they're against Meizu, but Meizu hasn't delivered what we're waiting for 1+ year with huge delay ---> what kind of impression would that give to you if it wasn't Meizu we were talking about?

On a sidenote, they were impressed by the prototype screenieshooter. They just didn't like the obviously similar GUI and the touchscreen-problems (yeah which were justified, i know). Doesn't look perma-Meizu-bashing to me.

Respect is something you earn for yourself.

__________________

SimonePMP

Just came back home from CeBit and I saw other "disasters". I'm posting here the status just for completeness.

1) Sisvel this year targeted quite a lot of companies. E-Ten booth was hit as well, with plain WM6 devices. Sisvel now says that WM6 devices are capable of producing their patented digital audio format (that being mpeg audio is almost everywhere, also in DVD and DVB), therefore "no direct licence, no chance to show/sell".
2) the PNDs where the new target - Personal Navigation Devices. All the devices capable of "multimedia" were taken. No matter the behaviour of the manufacturer. I had some friends at Royaltek and their PNDs were all taken away in a quite scenic police action.
3) THIS time maybe the matter will go quite high: Asus is paying for E-ten quite a huge amount of money and this move will not just E-Ten, but Asus as well. (stock market issues especially!). By the way, in a statement E-Ten said that they were under negotiation with Sisvel to arrange for the licence, but this is a classical move of Sisvel: when they are negotiating they usually HIT HARD FIRST to get some more pressure on their prospect licensees, so that their contract and terms look more "soft and acceptable".

Anyway, I know many big bosses that one or two years ago said "I'll never pay Sisvel licence" and now are on the list :eek:

It is a matter that can and will be sorted out in one way or the other. Distributors, as Dane-Elec does, can get the licence and show the products peacefully, but still the manufacturer will be more or less "banned" from shows. The only way around looks like offering everything JUST for OEM/ODM, bringing on the show only the rebranded stuff (paid for by the OEM/ODM customer).

This also means that at a certain point Sisvel might instruct customs to stop single pieces imported by end users from sources that do not have the licence (currently it happens just for quantities and commercial samples sent to prospect importers). More or less it is as it happens with "fake" nike shoes from China. In this case the customs just confiscate the goods and start a nice legal action against the buyer for import of "counterfeit goods".

Sorry for the long post and the topic that has now changed into "biased journalists"

Hendrik

@hotboxx: They wrote that they went to the booth the day before and they were told to come back the next day to see a plastic mockup and an incomplete demo of the GUI on an notebook. Well, let's face it, there was no prototype at all at the Cebit. A plastic device showing three screens and a touchscreen something (engineering prototype...) with the wrong touchscreen which couldn't even respond on touches as it was supposed to be.

@delay of SDK: The SDK was announced in October 2007 to hit the market in February 2008 according to engadget. It was released in March 2008, which is fine with me.

The M8 should have been available since mid 2007. Now it will be available in the end of 2008 or even in the beginning of 2009. Yeah, don't make fun of it, because Meizu isn't Apple ....?

Btw: engadget corrected their statement why Meizu's booth was raided by the police as soon as possible (from Apple to Sisvel and MP3 patents).


So let's get back to topic. We have different opinions about engadget and that's OK. Neither you will change your mind, Steve, nor will I

SteveMB93

Why do you think that the M8 should have been available mid-2007? Jack Wong said by the end of 2007.

DusL

I do remember Q3 being stated at CeBIT '07. (there was a video)
The end of '07 was only said after we were at the end of Q3 of that year.

The iPhone came out mid-2007 (june), don't confuse things here :P

kadajawi

Engadget likes Apple, definately. But they are honest, and like to make fun of things. Especially fakes/clones. And the M8 does look a bit like a clone. I guess if the M8 proves to be good, they may report on it.

@Simone: I would hope that there is something these companies could do against Sisvel, they could join forces and have much more money available for lawyers than Sisvel, which I guess is all that matters nowadays.

mamboo

I'm tired of the damn Sisvel monkeys. If it's as you are telling us SimonePMP I think the Sisvel company are just like rats, they even want to get money from SINGLE PIECES, thats pathetic.

SimonePMP

I think that Sisvel found a nice "hole in the System" to make money without having "invented" anything.

It is OK to help the little ones to collect their money for their intellectual property but might be also nice to see openly Sisvel accounts and find out how much is "digested" in the company salaries and "running costs" and how much goes in the pockets of the real inventors.

Anyway NOW it is too late to get anyone strong enough to survive Sisvel: they have a huge list of licensees and big big (BIG) money in their bank accounts. Balance sheets are public in Italy and anyone can take time to search and read them... The numbers are definitely impressive.

As I wrote, their style is "no mercy for anyone" and also "Law is on our side and we'll enforce it to all the possible extent". So far, as far as I am aware, no one made it to Court as an angreement was always found before (possibly because no one in the industry can wait years to get the products on the market, and this is one of the key success factors in the Sisvel strategy).

Now it is DVB-H turn and CDMA2000 plus the new "strategy" of patent pooling, where Sisvel urges everyone that has something related to their current portfolio to join in. As a matter of fact, anyone that pays Sisvel is definitely not paying ALL the due licences for an Mpeg Audio product, even if - without saying it anywhere - Sisvel gives the idea that after having paid their license, everything is OK... but what about Fraunhofer and Thomson?

I'm following this industry since many years and I have to say, very sadly, that nowadays it is IMPOSSIBLE to do anything with peace of mind because the patents number is so huge that there is no chance to find out all the related patents. It is not new that someone does something and someone else claims that there was a former patent made by him.

I really think that laws on this matter should change and there should be some sort of system that puts some kind of time limit for claims. This especially because no one makes claims until the business has become worth a legal action, but then what about all the investments made to turn something just new into something really successful?
Often someone "sniffs" an opportunity, patents something just in time and sits, waiting for someone else to make a success of it, then takes advantage of other people investments...

Just think... How many times did you came out with some ideas and then discovered that someone patented it? Many ideas are just "logical consequences" or "unavoidable steps", but still can be patented by the "fastest guy" (or the one that just knows how to!)

I personally had many ideas that became patents a couple of years after. My only satisfaction is that I don't keep these ideas for me - I just speak them out - and many colleagues or contacts sometimes come back to me saying "did you hear that this company just patented YOUR idea that you told us last year?"

So this is how it works... just not in the right way!