Apple Multitouch Patent Revalidated in Full by USPTO

Nine months after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues a tentative first office action invalidating an Apple multitouch patent, they have reversed its initial determination to confirm all claims as patentable. This is the patent that has been credited in part to cofounder Steve Jobs, and one which is being asserted against Motorola, Google, and Samsung in litigation. The USPTO’s decision ends the examination and subsequent re-examination of Apple’s U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949 after an anonymous ex parte request to review back in December 2012. Titled “Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics,” the ’949 patent is broad and covers functional aspects of multitouch screens like those found in many smart devices. It has been speculated that Samsung, Google, or both due to the ongoing legal struggles those companies have with Apple. However, the Apple patent is now stronger than ever, and Apple’s litigation efforts should be bolstered by the USPTO’s confirmation — certainly the exact opposite effect of the party who requested the review in the first place.

Source: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/10/17/apples-multitouch-steve-jobs-patent-revalidated-in-full-by-uspto

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