Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Patented Gestures Detailed

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the all-hail-the-listicle dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Annalee Newitz wrote a fresh/interesting/informative piece on the io9 site about 10 Gestures that are already patented; unsurprisingly by the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Nintendo. But it's the other patent holders on the list that seem more interesting to me: Xerox, Lucent, Palm and lesser known Gesturetek have very broad patents for this tech."

3 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Common MS gesture by dtmos · · Score: 4, Funny

    There's a gesture I often make to MS products, but it's been done so often by so many people that the prior art makes it unpatentable.

  2. The summary says Nintendo... by Goose+In+Orbit · · Score: 4, Informative

    TFA, on the other hand...

    "Interestingly, Nintendo did not patent any gestures at all in the creation of the Wii controller, instead focusing entirely on patenting facets of the device. Their patent covers a controller that contains an accelerometer, but not the gestures used to operate it."

    *rolls eyes*

  3. Re:raised fist, knuckles down, middle finger exten by RichMan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I read it. They patented communication. That a particular action is interpreted as a sign of a particular intent.
    Consider the hand signs used by the deaf, or the action in the title I used. An action is a symbol recognition for any intent is communication.

    Patents can apply to a way to recognize an action. Or a way to apply a signaled intent.
    But a symbol, and that is all a gesture of any sort is, is way beyond what should be covered.