Way back in 2007 when the original iPhone was launched Apple filed for a rather broad patent regarding capacitive multi-touch displays. Today that patent was approved. Patent experts agree its the wide scope may pose problems for major smartphone players such as HTC, Motorola, Samsung and even Nokia. If you’re a manufacturer hoping to release a smartphone with a capacitive multi-touch display there’s a good chance Apple will charge a fee to do so.
U.S. patent number 7,966,578 reads, “[a] computer-implemented method, for use in conjunction with a portable multifunction device with a touch screen display, [that] comprises displaying a portion of page content, including a frame displaying a portion of frame content and also including other content of the page, on the touch screen display.”
Anyway you shake it Apple’s legal team will have a field day with the newly acquired patent. Florian Mueller, an award-winning intellectual property activist, said “this patent covers a kind of functionality without which it will be hard to build a competitive smartphone. Unless this patent becomes invalidated, it would allow Apple to stifle innovation and bully competitors.”
While a royalty to the patent is probable, Apple has another option with devastating implications — it could ban the import of all patent infringing smartphones and tablets in the U.S. If this were the case a court would need to find it in the public interest to void the patent to avoid the monopoly Apple’s patent would create.
via PCMag
