In recent months, the US Patent and Trademark Office had rejected and discarded some Apple Patents. Today, another Apple Patent has been added on the list, however, it does not mean that the patent is no anymore valid.
Just early today, The USPTO rejected US 7,844,915. It is a patent that covers the ability of a programmed interface to detect and distinguished whether one finger initiates scrolling or a different number of fingers perform another tasks or actions. This patent is the same patent that was continuously referred to as the pinch-to-zoom patent, however, the real definition is much, much narrower than that.
The rejection and invalidation of the Apple Patent may cause considerable consternation for Apple when it deals to its $1.049 billion infringement win over Samsung – so much that Samsung brought the decision to the attention of Judge Lucy Koh in a court filing today. However, that crucial step of invalidation of the patent has not yet happened.
It is the same situation that we saw with Apple’s bounce-back patent. The whole discussion is part of an ex parte reexamination – that means Apple is the only other party talking to the USPTO about the patent, and it will still have an opportunity to fight for keeping the patent valid or to amend its language so that it will stay relevant in the Samsung case. It is important too to remember that while 21 individual claims within the patent were turned down, only one – Claim 8 – was used in the trial, presenting Apple a really specific target when working with the Patent Office.
There are still several decisions left on the table for Judge Koh after the Apple vs Samsung hearing earlier this month. This patent rejection could affect how she moves forward with her decisions on damages in the short term – but for the moment, the ’915 patent is still very much alive and kicking.
credit: theverge download:Statement of USPTO Decision (PDF)
USPTO Rejection form (PDF)
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The US Patent Office Has Rejected Another Apple Patent.
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