USPTO invalidates all claims of 'Steve Jobs' multi-touch patent zz# Apple - 家有苹果
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http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/12/07/uspto-invalidates-all
USPTO invalidates all claims of 'Steve Jobs' multi-touch patent
By Mikey Campbell
A decision published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Monday saw
an Apple patent, co-invented by late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, covering
multi-touch functionality have all 20 of its claims invalidated after the
property was reexamined.
Source: FOSS Patents
The USPTO's review of Apple U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949 for a "Touch screen
device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by
applying heuristics" was completed earlier this week, with the preliminary
invalidation filing first discovered by FOSS Patents. The first Office
action is not final, however, and can later be overturned following an
appeal.
Dubbed the "Steve Jobs" patent by a number of people, including Apple's
lawyers, the '949 patent is a broad, sweeping property covering the general
functionality of multi-touch screens like those used in the iPhone and iPad.
Leveraged against Samsung in the landmark Apple v. Samsung jury trial, as
well as an ITC dispute with Motorola, the IP is thought to be one the most
famous of Jobs' software patents.
Illustration from the '949 patent. | Source: USPTO
Filed for in April 2008 and granted in January 2009, the '949 patent lists
Jobs first among 25 co-inventors including former iOS chief Scott Forstall
and engineer Bas Ording.
From the '949 patent's abstract:
A computer-implemented method for use in conjunction with a computing device
with a touch screen display comprises: detecting one or more finger
contacts with the touch screen display, applying one or more heuristics to
the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device, and
processing the command.
The '949 patent decision comes a little over one month after Apple's '381 "
rubber-banding" or "bounce-back" patent was also invalidated in a similar
preliminary action. Both properties faced multiple reexamination requests
challenging their validity, the most recent being an ex parte, or anonymous,
challenge in in May.
USPTO invalidates all claims of 'Steve Jobs' multi-touch patent
By Mikey Campbell
A decision published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Monday saw
an Apple patent, co-invented by late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, covering
multi-touch functionality have all 20 of its claims invalidated after the
property was reexamined.
Source: FOSS Patents
The USPTO's review of Apple U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949 for a "Touch screen
device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by
applying heuristics" was completed earlier this week, with the preliminary
invalidation filing first discovered by FOSS Patents. The first Office
action is not final, however, and can later be overturned following an
appeal.
Dubbed the "Steve Jobs" patent by a number of people, including Apple's
lawyers, the '949 patent is a broad, sweeping property covering the general
functionality of multi-touch screens like those used in the iPhone and iPad.
Leveraged against Samsung in the landmark Apple v. Samsung jury trial, as
well as an ITC dispute with Motorola, the IP is thought to be one the most
famous of Jobs' software patents.
Illustration from the '949 patent. | Source: USPTO
Filed for in April 2008 and granted in January 2009, the '949 patent lists
Jobs first among 25 co-inventors including former iOS chief Scott Forstall
and engineer Bas Ording.
From the '949 patent's abstract:
A computer-implemented method for use in conjunction with a computing device
with a touch screen display comprises: detecting one or more finger
contacts with the touch screen display, applying one or more heuristics to
the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device, and
processing the command.
The '949 patent decision comes a little over one month after Apple's '381 "
rubber-banding" or "bounce-back" patent was also invalidated in a similar
preliminary action. Both properties faced multiple reexamination requests
challenging their validity, the most recent being an ex parte, or anonymous,
challenge in in May.
