Apple wins patent for glass-on-metal trackpad designed by Jobs & Ive
Apple on Tuesday was awarded a patent for the design of the glass trackpad atop the aluminum unibody enclosure of its MacBook lineup.
U.S. Patent No. D674382, simply entitled Portable Computer, was granted to Apple by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Its illustrations show the "ornamental design for a portable computer," and included among its inventors are Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and chief designer Jony Ive.
Apple notes in the patent that the surface of its MacBook computers is "metallic," and the included illustrations show the company's existing trackpad design found below the keyboard on a MacBook.
The awarded patent stems from a series of application continuations, the first of which was filed with the USPTO in 2008. In the document, Apple refers to the MacBook illustrations as "our new design."
The larger glass trackpad debuted in Apple's MacBook Pros in late 2008 when the company ushered in a major redesign with unibody aluminum enclosures. Unlike previous MacBooks that had a dedicated button below the trackpad for clicking, the new MacBook Pro glass trackpad was the first to act as a single physical button and to also understand multi-touch gestures.
In addition to Jobs and Ive, other inventors credited in the patent are Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De luliis, Evans Hankey, Richard P. Howart, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas B. Satzger, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, and Rico Zorkendorfer.
U.S. Patent No. D674382, simply entitled Portable Computer, was granted to Apple by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Its illustrations show the "ornamental design for a portable computer," and included among its inventors are Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and chief designer Jony Ive.
Apple notes in the patent that the surface of its MacBook computers is "metallic," and the included illustrations show the company's existing trackpad design found below the keyboard on a MacBook.
The awarded patent stems from a series of application continuations, the first of which was filed with the USPTO in 2008. In the document, Apple refers to the MacBook illustrations as "our new design."
The larger glass trackpad debuted in Apple's MacBook Pros in late 2008 when the company ushered in a major redesign with unibody aluminum enclosures. Unlike previous MacBooks that had a dedicated button below the trackpad for clicking, the new MacBook Pro glass trackpad was the first to act as a single physical button and to also understand multi-touch gestures.
In addition to Jobs and Ive, other inventors credited in the patent are Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De luliis, Evans Hankey, Richard P. Howart, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas B. Satzger, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, and Rico Zorkendorfer.
Comments
FINALLY. I'm really getting sick of seeing Apple inventions lose patents they deserve. The glass trackpad is unlike anything that came before it, including the way you interact with it...
I mean has anyone even seen the trackpads that are still shipping on every other notebook in the world? It is beyond disgusting.
This is true of so many products it's amazing the other guys are still in business. Even if Apple can make a markup that is seen by some as unreasonable, there is still no competition. It's truly mind boggling sometimes.
2. Does Lenovo use the same config with glass and aluminium[SIZE=4]*[/SIZE]?
[SIZE=2]* We've been over this[/SIZE]
This is clear as mud (again). Is it an ornamental patent or a trackpad design patent? The title says one and the article implies the other.
If it's a patent on the ornamental design of the MacBook Pro as it seems from the article that it is, then it can in no way actually be a patent on the glass trackpad which would be a design patent.
This is pretty typical of your reporting on patents in general. You might as well not report them and just post a link to some site that actually knows about patents and what this is all about.
Don't you know journalism died when 'they invented the internet' ¿
That's not true. Not all PCs have tiny touchpads. I have an HP laptop which has a very large touchpad - comparable in size to the MacBook Pro's touchpad.
It doesn't appear to be glass, so doesn't appear to be covered by Apple's patent, either.
Appleinsider...please please please stop using the word "wins" with regards to patents. It's not a competition. You invent something, you apply for a patent. If the patent office is convinced that the invention is unique and novel it grants the patent. Otherwise it doesn't. Yet you continue to say "wins" in every single Apple patent headline.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
This is pretty typical of your reporting on patents in general. You might as well not report them and just post a link to some site that actually knows about patents and what this is all about.
I agree. It's pretty clear that AI is pretty ignorant about patents in general.
Originally Posted by chabig
It's not a competition.
That patents can be magically invalidated without cause after they have already been asserted to be legally valid in court leads me to believe "wins" is more appropriate than we'd think.
"Just give 'em this one thing, Tony! They need 'da boost it brings!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by 21yr_mac_user
Here's a comment actually relating to this patent: I have that original uni-body macbook and the original macbook air shortly before it. I have to admit I really dislike this patent's integrated button vs the separate original macair button. The integrated button is heavy, noisy has too much force required and doesn't work well at the corners. I have to go with enabling the virtual button which I don't like because of the increase of false clicks. I just recently got a new macbook air with the integrated button and it is still less optimal than the original air (and don't get me started about the new air's crappy TN screen!). However I love apple's big glass trackpads and multitouch and they are heads and tails better than the competition - but please bring back the button!
I think you're in the minority. I have the older style that was on the previous model of macbook pros for work and and my home computer is the first uni-body macbook pro. The buttonless trackpad is by far and away better in every way possible.
Originally Posted by Rogifan
After Tim's org announcement I remember reading somewhere that the design team under Ive decided everyone's names would go on all design patents they receive.
Is that legal?
The trackpad took me a long time to get used to. I actually adapted quicker to that little rubber pencil eraser tip on an IBM Thinkpad.
Now I can't imagine using anything else. I find myself using my trackpad on my desktop more than the mouse.
It's ironic that Apple clung to a one-button mouse for years and then would later introduce trackpads with quite a few swiping and gesture controls.
Ironic or evolutionary?
It's another stupid patent, and a design patent at that.
It's another patent on a rounded rectangle, it should never have been awarded.
I don't know whether this applies to design patents, but on a utility patent, adding the name of someone who is not involved can be used as reason to have the patent invalidated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
That patents can be magically invalidated without cause after they have already been asserted to be legally valid in court leads me to believe "wins" is more appropriate than we'd think.
"Just give 'em this one thing, Tony! They need 'da boost it brings!"
If you're this concerned, have you ever considered learning more about the topic of patent law?