Well what do you know, that multi-touch patent Apple was raving about is not as valid as Cupertino folks would like it to be. The US Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) has made a preliminary ruling that the patent number 7,479,949 (so called “Steve Jobs multitouch patent”) is invalid on all 20 points.
If you recall, this is the key patent in all claims of multitouch infringement Apple had against other companies, including the case against Motorola thrown out this past June. In the mentioned case, a federal judge dismissed the suit, even stating that large parts of the patent in question were invalid in his opinion.
Of course, the case won’t end here as Apple will most likely make an appeal. However, it’s fair to argue it won’t be able to prevent other companies from using touchscreens that support multi-touch. Cause it’s not like there were no devices before the iPhone that had the capability…
[Via: FossPatents, AndroidCentral]