cdmagurus.com
07-29-2013, 08:50 AM
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected claims of an Apple patent that figures prominently in a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics, according to documents filed by the South Korean company in a U.S. federal court.
The 21 claims of the patent were rejected by the USPTO in a "final office action," as they were anticipated by previous patents or unpatentable. Known as the "pinch-to-zoom" patent, it covers the ability to distinguish between the scrolling movement of one finger and two-fingers gestures like pinch-to-zoom on a touch-screen to activate certain functions.
Apple has up to two months to respond to the USPTO decision. In a filing in April (http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipad-iphone/news/?newsid=3438333) after USPTO rejected multiple claims of another patent in a similar final office action, Apple said it had further options, including appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and seeking judicial review.
Claim eight of the patent was involved in Apple's lawsuit against Samsung in the court, according to a filing Sunday by Samsung in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. A jury last August awarded Apple US$1.05 billion in damages, but the court has ordered a partial retrial to review the damages to be paid to the iPhone maker.
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The 21 claims of the patent were rejected by the USPTO in a "final office action," as they were anticipated by previous patents or unpatentable. Known as the "pinch-to-zoom" patent, it covers the ability to distinguish between the scrolling movement of one finger and two-fingers gestures like pinch-to-zoom on a touch-screen to activate certain functions.
Apple has up to two months to respond to the USPTO decision. In a filing in April (http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipad-iphone/news/?newsid=3438333) after USPTO rejected multiple claims of another patent in a similar final office action, Apple said it had further options, including appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and seeking judicial review.
Claim eight of the patent was involved in Apple's lawsuit against Samsung in the court, according to a filing Sunday by Samsung in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. A jury last August awarded Apple US$1.05 billion in damages, but the court has ordered a partial retrial to review the damages to be paid to the iPhone maker.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here (http://cdmagurus.com/article/2045461/us-patent-office-rejects-claims-of-apple-pinch-to-zoom-patent.html#jump)
More... (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2045461/us-patent-office-rejects-claims-of-apple-pinch-to-zoom-patent.html#tk.rss_all)