U.S. Patent Office Preliminary Determination Finds That The ‘Steve Jobs’ Multitouch Patent Is Invalid
The USPTO has issued a preliminary notice indicating that the famous ‘Steve Jobs’ patent, which describes basic multitouch technology including scrolling, might be invalid, according to a first Office action uncovered by FOSS Patents. The ruling is very early, however, and Apple still has two months to make an initial response and a number of appeals before the patent in question might finally be rendered invalid. Many news outlets are talking about the effect this may have on ongoing court cases, but looking at the details, it’s much too early to even be thinking about the effect such a decision would have on ongoing court battles between Samsung and others.
USPTO Invalidates Key Apple Multitouch Patent -- For Now
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which tentatively invalidated Apple’s rubber-banding patent back in October, has taken a similarly dim view of another of the company’s marquee multitouch patents — one that Samsung was found to infringe. Earlier this week, the USPTO tentatively declared invalid U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949 — the so-called “Steve Jobs patent” — rejecting all 20 of its claims. The USPTO’s decision is not final; this is just a preliminary ruling. Still, it’s clearly unwelcome news for Apple.
No comments:
Post a Comment