Apple awarded key "multi-touch" patent covering the iPhone

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 94
    kdarlingkdarling Posts: 1,640member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post


    Apple did not patent multi-touch, they patented a way those gestures are detected.



    Exactly. If you read it, that's all the patent is about... particular ways of determining the user's intentions.



    Overall, fairly unlikely for other companies' code to be impacted by this.
  • Reply 22 of 94
    ibillibill Posts: 400member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by g3pro View Post


    Great way to innovate, Apple. Patent the obvious, and sue anyone who tries to improve.



    Apple's protecting their innovation, can't fault them for that. They've had enough of their ip copied over the years. Time to make amends.
  • Reply 23 of 94
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    Apple also has a patent that displays words that appear like the word you are attempting to type. You are able to choose the word you are attempting to type among words that look like the word you are attempting to type. It seems like this works better than the current predictive text method.









    Apple's current predictive text on the left, the alternate predictive text on the right.



    Windows Mobile has had that since the PocketPC days in 2000. Sure the keaboard was a stylus keaboard or handwriting input but it would guess the words and you change options to turn it on or off or how many words you wish to be displayed as guesses. Thats the problem with trying to go and try to sue Palm or Microsoft is they have tons of prior art and possibly patents of their own.



    HOWEVER, they are not getting these patents to sue Palm or Microsoft. They are getting these patents to protect themselves from patent trolls. I'm 100% in that.
  • Reply 24 of 94
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KDarling View Post


    Exactly. If you read it, that's all the patent is about... particular ways of determining the user's intentions.



    Overall, fairly unlikely for other companies' code to be impacted by this.



    Actually, I believe they also own the multi-touch capacitive layer patent as well, via their purchase of FingerWorks.
  • Reply 25 of 94
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post


    Apple did not patent multi-touch, they patented a way those gestures are detected.



    Yes, that's what a touch screen does, it detects the user touching the screen. Interpreting those touches is what a you do if you have a touch screen. What else is there?



    The people on this forum (and other places) seem to abandon all notions of critical thinking, or thinking at all, they just lap up anything Apple says. It's incredible really.



    Meanwhile, in the real world, Apple begins to look more like a patent troll, produce a broad (albeit detailed) patent, then sue anyone that tries to complete. Apple has a long and glorious history of doing things well, but having original ideas is not their strong suit. They haven't invented much of anything, I don't think this is any different.
  • Reply 26 of 94
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by g3pro View Post


    Great way to innovate, Apple. Patent the obvious, and sue anyone who tries to improve.



    Apparently you're new to the patent world.
  • Reply 27 of 94
    begbeg Posts: 53member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by merdhead View Post


    Meanwhile, in the real world, Apple begins to look more like a patent troll, produce a broad (albeit detailed) patent, then sue anyone that tries to complete. Apple has a long and glorious history of doing things well, but having original ideas is not their strong suit. They haven't invented much of anything, I don't think this is any different.



    Please give reference to any litigation Apple is engaged in regarding these patents at this very moment, or [ed: snipped profanity attack] kindly.



    [edited: profanity isn't to be used against another member]
  • Reply 28 of 94
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by merdhead View Post


    Meanwhile, in the real world, Apple begins to look more like a patent troll, produce a broad (albeit detailed) patent, then sue anyone that tries to complete. Apple has a long and glorious history of doing things well, but having original ideas is not their strong suit. They haven't invented much of anything, I don't think this is any different.



    But the problem is, Apple actually produces hardware and software that utilizes the IP in question, whereas patent trolls generally do not.
  • Reply 29 of 94
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by merdhead View Post


    Actung: 'Granted' is not the same as 'Valid'.



    You have to assume there is a mountain of prior art associated with touch interfaces and the patent is almost certainly invalid. Of course they don't know that word in East Texas.



    Actually, you don't.



    People keep making the same mistakes about patents. It's the way something is done that is patentable, not necessarily the thing that is being done.



    A particular gesture, may be around for awhile, but if it hasn't been patented, it can be used as PART of another filing. In addition, the way software and hardware does this "behind the scenes" is what's also patentable.



    Also, the patent process allows one or more patents to be used in another patent by someone else, if the subsequent result is "unique, and couldn't be assumed from any of the older separate patents.



    A patent is not about ideas. No idea is patentable. It's about "process", the way things are done.
  • Reply 30 of 94
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by skottichan View Post


    Actually, I believe they also own the multi-touch capacitive layer patent as well, via their purchase of FingerWorks.



    If you're saying that Apple ownes the patents to the capacitive touch screen, they don't. I've debunked this quite a while ago.



    Just type "capacitive touch screen" in Google, and a raft of companies that make them will come up.



    The "idea" of a capacitive touch screen can't be patented, just the methodologies to make them.



    As far as the multitouch concept goes, Apple doesn't own that either, just their particular version.
  • Reply 31 of 94
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by merdhead View Post


    Yes, that's what a touch screen does, it detects the user touching the screen. Interpreting those touches is what a you do if you have a touch screen. What else is there?



    The people on this forum (and other places) seem to abandon all notions of critical thinking, or thinking at all, they just lap up anything Apple says. It's incredible really.



    Meanwhile, in the real world, Apple begins to look more like a patent troll, produce a broad (albeit detailed) patent, then sue anyone that tries to complete. Apple has a long and glorious history of doing things well, but having original ideas is not their strong suit. They haven't invented much of anything, I don't think this is any different.



    Learn something about patents, then come back.
  • Reply 32 of 94
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    Apple also has a patent that displays words that appear like the word you are attempting to type. You are able to choose the word you are attempting to type among words that look like the word you are attempting to type. It seems like this works better than the current predictive text method. .



    Apple have a patent on predictive text?



    Are you sure?



    This very same system has been around for a long time on all manner of phones.
  • Reply 33 of 94
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iBill View Post


    Apple's protecting their innovation, can't fault them for that. They've had enough of their ip copied over the years. Time to make amends.



    Get a grip. Whenever a story is published about somebody else enforcing a patent all we get on here are 50+ posts on why the patent system needs overhauling and the lawyers are greedy bastards etc...



    When Apple do the same it is fantastic, protecting their IP etc.. etc...



    Pathetic.[/quote]
  • Reply 34 of 94
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Murphster View Post


    Get a grip. Whenever a story is published about somebody else enforcing a patent all we get on here are 50+ posts on why the patent system needs overhauling and the lawyers are greedy bastards etc...



    When Apple do the same it is fantastic, protecting their IP etc.. etc...



    Pathetic.





    That's not really true. It depends on who has the patent. Why they have it, and what they are doing with it.



    There are companies that ARE patent trolls. Even Congress is thinking about doing something about that.



    When a company develops a patent and is using the IP, then there's nothing wrong with them defending it.



    When companies go looking to buy patents on the cheap, in large numbers, and then just sit on them, waiting for them to get used, then pounce, it's different.



    Most of those patents are obscure, and aren't even easily found when looking. Those are patent trolls. they don't sue when they first see the patent being used, they wait until a large, valuable, business is built up, then they sue. This shouldn't be allowed.



    Other companies may not think they are even violating a patent with their work, even though they have the patent in front of them. They are convinced that their work is unique, when it isn't.



    Sometimes a patent is issued in error. That can happen for a lot of reasons. Most big companies don't often make that mistake, but it happens.



    It's possible that everything about Palm's gestures are unique IP to them, and possibly it's not.



    This is not a simple issue.
  • Reply 35 of 94
    Amazing, that iPhone still doesn't have Copy & Paste, Notes Syncing, Spotlight. That's what holding me back from migrating from Treo 700p (3rd or 4th Replacement Unit). Luckily Verizon had them at the store.



    Copy & Paste, Notes Syncing, Spotlight.

    Copy & Paste, Notes Syncing, Spotlight.

    Copy & Paste, Notes Syncing, Spotlight.



    Flash????????????



    Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease! How come Palm Pre was shown to have it, and iPhone doesn't? Hm... As a proud Apple User, I am not happy to see that omission on iPhone!



    As to Patents, whomever has better lawyers wins, provided the Judge or whatever is not biased!



    Rebinstein saw things, and brought them to Palm -- some NDA, ha!?! Whatever happened to the IBM Papermaster and his NDA case?!



    The Patent Case with Palm could probably pay for itself in PR?! Apple has more $$$ then Palm to hurt them, unless Palm wins?! Oy, what would happen to AAPL then?



    Can't wait for Jobs to come back and do his One More Thing Stuff!
  • Reply 36 of 94
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macologist View Post


    Amazing, that iPhone still doesn't have Copy & Paste, Notes Syncing, Spotlight. That's what holding me back from migrating from Treo 700p (3rd or 4th Replacement Unit). Luckily Verizon had them at the store.



    Copy & Paste, Notes Syncing, Spotlight.

    Copy & Paste, Notes Syncing, Spotlight.

    Copy & Paste, Notes Syncing, Spotlight.



    Flash????????????



    Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease! How come Palm Pre was shown to have it, and iPhone doesn't? Hm... As a proud Apple User, I am not happy to see that omission on iPhone!



    As to Patents, whomever has better lawyers wins, provided the Judge or whatever is not biased!



    Rebinstein saw things, and brought them to Palm -- some NDA, ha!?! Whatever happened to the IBM Papermaster and his NDA case?!



    The Patent Case with Palm could probably pay for itself in PR?! Apple has more $$$ then Palm to hurt them, unless Palm wins?! Oy, what would happen to AAPL then?



    Can't wait for Jobs to come back and do his One More Thing Stuff!



    I had a Samsung i300 and later i330 Palmphones, then I also bought the Treo 700p when it first came out. More recently, I replaced that with the iPhone 3G.



    While C/P would be nice, the rest doesn't interest me, though some other features would be liked.



    However, this phone when compared to my Treo, is like night and day!



    I would never go back.



    And I REALLY liked my Palmphones. But not anymore.



    The Pre certainly looks interesting, but we need to see some reviews after it comes out to see if it really works as well as it looks.



    At any rate, Palm has a lot of mindshare to make up. Can they quickly get sufficient programs ported over? That will be an issue. This phone will be, at first, only available on Sprint.



    Which is a greater problem for the manufacturer, the iPhone first appearing for a growing, first place AT&T, or the Pre first appearing for a third place, quickly shrinking Sprint (where I came from)?



    I don't want to see Palm destroyed, so I hope they have their own IP here.
  • Reply 37 of 94
    Let Apple absorb Palm...
  • Reply 38 of 94
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pmjoe View Post


    Great, more junk patents. Somebody stop the madness please.



    Learn to read and comprehend. This patent is tied to hardware design and how it interacts with their UI. How they've brought it together with their custom algorithms has earned them the patent.
  • Reply 39 of 94
    I think PALM is very scared right now. When the launch of pre?



    p.s. look at THIS! is million dollar home page applied to iPhone apps! coool
  • Reply 40 of 94
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    two things

    Pre is for a prep for a buyout now less likely



    And like at poker the larger bank usuay wins

    Apple has how much in the bank?

    And palm has much less it's hard to win with scared money
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