App Store enigma: the patent holder, the developer, and the voiceless child
Apple's "benign dictatorship" of the App Store leaves users, devs in the dark.
by Nate Anderson June 14 2012 Ars Technica
Few apps available for the iPad sell for $300-and even fewer are considered a bargain at the price. But "Speak for Yourself" turned consumer-grade tablets into sophisticated Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices for those struggling to speak due to issues like autism; standalone hardware offering the same capabilities goes for up to $15,000.
The software changed lives. Dana Nieder's daughter Maya was unable to speak on her own, and the recent Speak for Yourself app proved intuitive enough that the four-year old could use it almost immediately. The results amazed Nieder, who wrote about them on her blog:
Maya can speak to us, clearly, for the first time in her life. We are hanging on her every word. We've learned that she loves talking about the days of the week, is weirdly interested in the weather, and likes to pretend that her toy princesses are driving the bus to school (sometimes) and to work (other times). This app has not only allowed her to communicate her needs, but her thoughts as well. It's given us the gift of getting to know our child on a totally different level.
Then, on June 4, Apple pulled Speak for Yourself from its App Store after two companies complained about patent infringement and filed a separate lawsuit against the app's developers. Speak for Yourself rushed to court to complain that its business had been "sacrificed to Plaintiff's commercial greed" without any sort of judicial ruling, but the court declined to take any immediate action. The Speak for Yourself app was gone and its developers had no other lawful way to sell it. They were worried-and angry.
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