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Apple Patent on Touch Typing, Multitouch Upheld; Allows Ban on Most Androids

dailytech.com

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Re: Apple Patent on Touch Typing, Multitouch Upheld; Allows Ban on Most Androids

#5

Post by throwawaykf »

Ugh, no. Yes the patent was upheld. Yes, all the claims survived intact. No, the claims are not on "touch typing, multitouch"; they cover a very specific use of a heuristic to differentiate between scrolling and panning. No, it's very unlikely that it will allow "ban on most Android" devices. I think Samsung (and probably most Android vendors) have already worked around the claims.

As with all tech media discussion about patents these days, this article talks about what the patent "covers" without so much as an idea of what claims are.

Re: Apple Patent on Touch Typing, Multitouch Upheld; Allows Ban on Most Androids

#7

Post by baldfat »

The idea that a keyboard used with a finger is even Patentable???? How is this even close to being something that needs to be protected? So the visualization of anything is a patent worthy idea? There has to be prior art in the hundreds of touch typing?

It is so frustrating knowing the Prior work of Microsoft Surface before the iPhone with multi-touch and pinch to zoom.

I would love all Android phones to just stop being sold in protest immediately. Though this would never happen. The very idea that this was something invalid in September and now passed through smells of some outside pressure.

Re: Apple Patent on Touch Typing, Multitouch Upheld; Allows Ban on Most Androids

#8

Post by Tyrannosaurs »

jbogp wrote: post #4

I swear every time I read one of those articles I die a little bit. I can't begin to apprehend the emptiness inside [insert patent trolling company] lawyers' souls after a day at work.

Not sure this is much to do with companies patent trolling. Apple developed the tech and use it, that's pretty different.

You can disagree with the specific patent (and I think in this case there's a pretty good case for that) or with patents in general, but this isn't, by my understanding of the term, patent trolling.

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