iPhone Touch Patent Gives Apple Clout Against Rivals
Posted on January 28th, 2009 by Ask Salomon under General StuffDuring an earnings call last week, Apple COO and acting CEO Tim Cook told financial analysts that Apple would not tolerate other companies infringing on its intellectual property for the iPhone. Now it turns out that Apple has a major weapon in its defensive arsenal — a U.S. patent awarded shortly before Cook’s comments.
At the time of the call, the context of Cook’s remarks led most observers to assume that he was referring to Palm’s new iPhone competitor, the Pre. But the new patent raises questions about whether Apple’s target for potential infringers is much larger.
‘One or More Finger Contacts’
Patent Number 7,479,949 runs more than 350 pages. Its title — Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics — covers a variety of user-interface techniques relating to touch commands. The touch commands cover “one or more finger contacts” used for scrolling, a “two-dimensional screen translation command,” or a command for displaying items in a set, among other things.
Signed by Apple cofounder and CEO Steve Jobs and more than a dozen other Apple employees, the patent covers such data-display gestures as pinch-to-zoom Web browsing and swipe-to-scroll.
In addition to whether Apple intends to sue Palm or others based on this patent, there is also the question of whether the patent will have a chilling effect on the rapidly innovating smartphone industry.
Several companies that could be litigation targets have been positioning themselves. In the now-famous earnings call, Cook tempered his remarks by saying they were meant generally, rather than pointed at Palm. But Palm apparently thought Cook’s remarks were directed at it, and a Palm spokesperson responded that the company is ready to legally defend its innovations if necessary.
Prior Art?
Microsoft, which uses multi-touch technology such as in its Surface interactive tables, has laid the groundwork to claim…
Source: newsfactor.com
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