Apple trying to patent iPhone UI pinch

“Trying” bring the keyword here.

You see, in order to score a patent from the USPTO (a process that can four years or more), the patent seeker has to demonstrate “a new and useful process, machine or a composition of matter.” Does the iPhone’s multi-touch pinching gesture qualify as a useful process?

Well, “It seems that Apple could win patent claims where they are directed toward a touchscreen user device,” says Chad Peterman, an expert on patent and antitrust litigation and an attorney at Patterson Belknap Webb and Tyler.

The pinching gesture on the iPhone is correlated to a zoom function that is proportional to the space between the fingers, and is apparently novel enough that it could be argued that other devices using this gesture are infringing on Apple’s iPhone technology. If Apple is successful in patenting the multi-touch pinch gesture, they’d be in a position to prevent other companies developing multi-touch touchscreen technologies from using the same gesture as it applies to zooming-in and zooming-out actions. According to Raj Abhyanker, a patent lawyer who used to write patent applications for Apple, “They’d also be in an especially good position to stop others from including certain features. Apple could stop [their use] not only on mobile devices but also desktops.”

Apple sure wants to lock down the multi-touch market as much as it can. With competitors scrambling to develop touchscreen-based technologies, it makes sense for Apple to seek a position where they could demand royalties for use of these technologies or even stop certain technologies from ever falling into competing hands. We’ll see how this plays out. There are over 200 patent applications filed for the iPhone alone, with many filed at or around 2004, so we could see some serious patent-action soon.

[Via: Wired]