Figma Disables AI App Design Tool After It Copied Apple’s Weather App
“Ultimately it is my fault for not insisting on a better QA process for this work and pushing our team hard to hit a deadline,” Figma’s CEO said.
Figma balls
Gottttteeeeeeem
This is the only thing I can think when I see that name.
I'm curious, what exactly is the problem with this? Does Apple have copyrights on the whole design or each individual visual element? Where would figma get in trouble if they left it working that way?
I'm not a lawyer, I could imagine that a copyright claim for a specific app design is viable.
But in this case, it might also just be a case of avoiding bad press and bad blood with Apple.
Could it be a fear of a software patent relating to the design? Back in the day Apple had one for swipe to unlock that prompted Android to use different patterns.
It’s a PR issue not a legal one.
Yah. ALl of this makes me think it's crazy for a company like Figma to even try this. If the designs don't steal from well known brand, people will say they suck. If they do steal, they get booed as well. Losing proposition, it seems to me.
Apple has copyrights on the looks of every element, and patents on the way they interact. Aldo trademarks, but I doubt they apply in this case.
Some patents may have expired (good thing they don't last as long as copyrights), some they may not bother to defend (litigate) against small users.
In this case, Figma's AI seems to repeatedly follow Aple's design too closely.
I did not catch on the Figma AI news, but now I can't wait for every website and mobile app to look the same 🙃
I'd actually like that if it follows good practicses. I feel like the good ones will continue to be good ones anyway, ignoring unification.
Some apps have multiple pages, some have a map, some show different timespans of weather predictions with different data, some show photos of places, some allow selecting multiple places but show them differently, some show maritime weather, and so on.
There is a limited amount of creativity, but a properly "creative" AI, should not keep repeating the same design pattern over and over.
