Judge Posner upholds largest part of Apples touchscreen heuristics 949 patent in Motorola case

Florian Mueller: >Apple argues that “if it turns out the claims are too broadly written and run afoul of the prior art, that is an issue that may be resolved at trial or via summary judgment”, which is legally accurate, but the idea of interpreting gestures, which are inherently imprecise if made by a human…

Florian Mueller:

>Apple argues that “if it turns out the claims are too broadly written and run afoul of the prior art, that is an issue that may be resolved at trial or via summary judgment”, which is legally accurate, but the idea of interpreting gestures, which are inherently imprecise if made by a human being, by applying a certain degree of tolerance shouldn’t be patentable regardless of who was first to come up with it. That’s why I agreed with Motorola’s request to declare the patent invalid for indefiniteness. But Apple won in Chicago, Apple won at the ITC, and now Motorola and Samsung, and the Android ecosystem at large, face a serious threat. If Android devices can’t implement any of the gestures described above, they won’t be competitive.

I’m with Mueller here, that this patent shouldn’t be allowed, but it seems that at this point it is legal and could really screw over Android. Basically forcing Android touchscreens to work like crap, or pay a stiff license fee to Apple.

Note: This site makes use of affiliate links where and when possible. These links may earn this site money when utilized. 

BECOME A MEMBER

Join Today, for Exclusive Access.


Posted

in

by