Feel like this is a concern to address: Infringement

Have you noticed how many IT companies are suing and counter-suing back... I understand you are protecting intellectual property but when does it become known as universal or common knowledge? I guess that is why I had legality. You could make anything into a lawsuit if you really want to think about.. With the IT sector, it is no different.

After much lawsuit from Apple to Samsung and HTC, Oracle to Google, Google to Apple, and Real to Microsoft, this one caught my eye... Via suing Apple

Via patent suit may give Apple the most trouble
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/via-patent-suit-may-give-apple-the-most-trouble/4654?tag=mantle_skin;content

I found the lawsuit title to be an oddball. Via is a chipmaker (personally, I do not like their product) and Apple is manufacturer of their iProducts. The article points out one important relations to the lawsuit:

"Two, Apple makes its own chips used in the products the suit claims infringes on Via’s patents. The three patents Via claims are being infringed by Apple:

* US Patent No. 6253312, Method and apparatus for double operand load
* US Patent Nos. 6253311 & 6754810, Instruction set for bi-directional conversion and transfer of integer and floating point data

Notice those are microprocessor related? Via claims Apple infringes on these patents with nearly its entire mobile product line: iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple TV. What do these have in common? Apple makes its own processor for them."

I understand that it is a how the chip processes these certain tasks. But how could you really prove that process is a patent infringement? It is a process and how it processes it could seem the same but might not. Maybe I am wrong but technicality is important but to what extent?

What I am worried is that there will be copyright lawsuit on everything. It is happening in the biosector with human genome. What makes you think one code or one word could be copyright violation. Yes, I am know "you're fired" is a trademark now but saying publicly that you're fired (by mistake on television) could render a lawsuit?

Lastly, these development can't be just abstract and needs to really define how hardware and firmware works to achieve that process. If that is define, Via might have more than a lawsuit (especially if Apple products hinge on that process).