"Boy have we patented it"
05/25/07 09:30 Filed in: the iPhone
Unwired View has investigated the patents of the upcoming iPhone and reports this:
"During his presentation of the iPhone, Steve Jobs mentioned that they have filed for more then 200 patents to protect the inventions they’ve put into this new gadget. Want to know what exactly have they patented? Then read on.
To find out which of the cool iPhone features has been patented by Apple and are now protected from replication and which ones you can expect to be copied soon by the likes of Nokia, Samsung or Motorola, we’ve combed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark database and checked all relevant Apple’s patents.
And we came to a conclusion that this time Steve Jobs did his homework and most of the key features that make iPhone an iPhone will not be easily copied by competitors. This applies to Multi touch display, the idea to use full screen of the device for User Interface, scrolling, zooming and other finger gestures, soft on screen controls, multifunctionality, proximity, ambient light sensors and many other functions."
Unwired View then goes on to report on patents relating to:
MULTI-TOUCH SCREEN
MULTIFINGER GESTURES
DEVICE INTEGRATION
Full screen touch screen display covering almost all the area of the hand-held device and operated mainly through on screen buttons
Multifunctionality - iPod, Cellphone and Internet Communicator in one device. Functions changes through software. Switching between applications (Phone, iPod, Internet) through on screen buttons
MULTITASKING
ACCELEROMETER
PROXIMITY DETECTOR
SYSTEM FOR SENSING AMBIENT LIGHT
Of interest is the "Multitasking" patents, something not covered elsewhere or in any demos. Perhaps it is not going to be fully functional in version 1 of the iPhone software, but surely the hardware has the capability, it will be a software development issue. The Multitasking patents describe activating a unique GUI display if one hits two or more device functionalities (buttons?) simultaneously. Is it possible that Jobs has hidden features of the iPhone he has not revealed in the same way as he demoed Mac OS X Leopard? This would be a phenomenal feature that would be very difficult for the competition to match. So far, all the competition has been able to talk about is making a phone that looks like an iPhone. But they don't get it. Their rip-offs won't function like an iPhone.
Unwired View continues, "So Steve Jobs exclaimed during keynote “And boy have we patented it!” it was not an empty boast. The have indeed PATENTED it. And though not all of the claims have received patent protection yet and even less of them may withstand scrutiny in court if Apple decides to enforce them, many of the claims should should stick.
I guess Steve has learned his lessons from Mac and there it would be very difficult for Nokia or Samsung to repeat the Microsoft Windows feat and create an iPhone knock-off without violating at least some of Apple’s IP."
"During his presentation of the iPhone, Steve Jobs mentioned that they have filed for more then 200 patents to protect the inventions they’ve put into this new gadget. Want to know what exactly have they patented? Then read on.
To find out which of the cool iPhone features has been patented by Apple and are now protected from replication and which ones you can expect to be copied soon by the likes of Nokia, Samsung or Motorola, we’ve combed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark database and checked all relevant Apple’s patents.
And we came to a conclusion that this time Steve Jobs did his homework and most of the key features that make iPhone an iPhone will not be easily copied by competitors. This applies to Multi touch display, the idea to use full screen of the device for User Interface, scrolling, zooming and other finger gestures, soft on screen controls, multifunctionality, proximity, ambient light sensors and many other functions."
Unwired View then goes on to report on patents relating to:
MULTI-TOUCH SCREEN
MULTIFINGER GESTURES
DEVICE INTEGRATION
Full screen touch screen display covering almost all the area of the hand-held device and operated mainly through on screen buttons
Multifunctionality - iPod, Cellphone and Internet Communicator in one device. Functions changes through software. Switching between applications (Phone, iPod, Internet) through on screen buttons
MULTITASKING
ACCELEROMETER
PROXIMITY DETECTOR
SYSTEM FOR SENSING AMBIENT LIGHT
Of interest is the "Multitasking" patents, something not covered elsewhere or in any demos. Perhaps it is not going to be fully functional in version 1 of the iPhone software, but surely the hardware has the capability, it will be a software development issue. The Multitasking patents describe activating a unique GUI display if one hits two or more device functionalities (buttons?) simultaneously. Is it possible that Jobs has hidden features of the iPhone he has not revealed in the same way as he demoed Mac OS X Leopard? This would be a phenomenal feature that would be very difficult for the competition to match. So far, all the competition has been able to talk about is making a phone that looks like an iPhone. But they don't get it. Their rip-offs won't function like an iPhone.
Unwired View continues, "So Steve Jobs exclaimed during keynote “And boy have we patented it!” it was not an empty boast. The have indeed PATENTED it. And though not all of the claims have received patent protection yet and even less of them may withstand scrutiny in court if Apple decides to enforce them, many of the claims should should stick.
I guess Steve has learned his lessons from Mac and there it would be very difficult for Nokia or Samsung to repeat the Microsoft Windows feat and create an iPhone knock-off without violating at least some of Apple’s IP."