US Patent Office Invalidates Apple's "Rubber Banding" Patent

bhagwad writes "The patent that was the cause of so much grief to Samsung in the recently concluded trial with Apple has been tentatively invalidated by the USPTO. The challenge was filed anonymously, but it obviously could have been filed by any smartphone manufacturer. Will this have an effect on further proceedings in the case or perhaps more importantly on the inevitable appeal?"

Comments

Finally

[RenderSeven]

Signs of life from the USPTO

Re:Finally

[jkrise]

This is what the rascal Florian Mueller has to say: Apple's rubber-banding (overscroll-bounce) patent is still going to go through a lengthy proces before it may or may not be invalidated. There can be more than one non-final Office action by the Central Reexamination Division. Even a "final Office action" is not final at all. It can be reconsidered by the Central Reexamination Division itself, and the last decision by that division can be appealed to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), which used to be called the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) until recently and is like an USPTO-internal appeals court. Remands by the PTAB to the Central Reexamination Division cause further delay. When the USPTO is done with the patent, its decision can be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. And theoretically, a Federal Circuit decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court, which doesn't hear many patent validity cases (but does take a look at important issues from time to time).

Apple has many patents in play against Android. It doesn't matter in a strategic sense if some of them, or even many of them, get invalidated. It just needs to enforce enough of them to ensure product differentiation. The '381 patent covers a signature element of the iOS touchscreen user interface, and Apple is going to fight hard to keep it alive. But at the end of the day it's just one of many patents-in-suit.

Someone needs to whip this scoundrel a 1000 lashes on his bare buttocks until he understands what shit he is spouting as a so-called 'expert' on patents.

About time....

[Anonymous Coward]

Could it be that the USPTO is doing something RIGHT for a change?

Re:they should pay.

[Jintsui]

I'm pretty sure some Apply employees already do that..

Re:It means Apple Is a Patent Troll and was caught

[Shagg]

Anyone else care to add to the list of misinformation on things Apple and their fans claim Apple invented?

The rectangle.

Re:Wooo

[EdIII]

It would be fitting to see Looney Tunes referenced in a patent office filing now wouldn't it?

Re:Wooo

[jd2112]

Done. Just filed a patent for "Method for walking on thin air by means of not looking down".