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German Court Finds Apple's 'Slide To Unlock' Patent Invalid
New submitter anderzole writes "Germany's Federal Patent Court on Thursday invalidated all of Apple's claims for its slide-to-unlock patent. They death blow for Apple's slide to unlock patent was likely a Swedish phone called the Neonode N1m that launched well before the iPhone and featured its own slide to unlock implementation. The N1m was released in 2005 while Apple's own patent for slide to unlock wasn't filed until December of 2005."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Tj-KS2kfIr0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonode
Do not navigate to the link unless you have a strong stomach.
Now Apple should pay 1/10th of it's value as a penalty.
Result: no more stupid patents filled by thieves.
Hello Slashdotters, I'm looking for the code to implement features of this now invalidated patent. I know we have hackers who can output this code fast and I know I'm not alone.
"... and boy your patent is invalid."
Very funny. Goatse on Wikipedia and Youtube. Constantly people complain what has become out of Slashdot, but I doubt that even now here are many who would fall for that.
That something like this even comes to court.
Youtube used to have a redirect bug so I have seen youtube goatse links on slashdot. And there's plenty of gag-inducing content on wikipedia, even without someone maliciously editing it.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
How did this nonsense patent even get granted in the first place? I've worked on getting patents filed, and we usually meet with all sorts of resistance even when there is actually something to the patent. Who is getting paid off to grant nonsense patents like this?
I know Apple are Patent rapists, but should we care. The iPhone is still the second most popular phone range in the US but it is doing badly everywhere else. I have seen this video...I have seen this prior art mentioned...now 6 years later its invalidated...in one country, Android have already worked around this patent, and pretty nifty it is too, we even have some very fun alternative unlocking methods including fingertips and facial recognition.
Why are we not discussing the great technology from other manufacturing companies like IR being reintroduced to phones...or waterpoofing phones, or the ever growing screen size. Hell even compare two screen phones DS style to electronic paper/led screen phones. Lets discuss relevant electronics companies that innovate, in fact lets talk about that technology.
Someone set us up the bomb!
How many bytes can you take out of an Apple?
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd infringed a key portion of an Apple Inc patent by including a text-selection feature in its smartphones and tablets, an International Trade Commission judge said in a preliminary decision.
South Korean-based Samsung did not infringe portions of a second Apple patent that allows a device to detect if a microphone or other device is plugged into its microphone jack, the judge said in a decision that was issued on March 26 but kept confidential until late Thursday to allow the companies to redact sensitive business information.
The full commission must now decide if they will uphold it or overturn the judge's decision. A final decision is expected in August.
If it is upheld, the ITC can order any infringing device to be barred from importation into the United States. Apple has alleged that Samsung's Galaxy, Transform and Nexus devices, among others, were among those made with the infringing technology. Apple had filed a complaint in mid-2011, accusing Samsung of infringing its patents in making a wide range of smartphones and tablet.
ITC Judge Thomas Pender said in a preliminary decision in October that Samsung infringed four Apple patents but did not violate two others listed in the complaint. There had been seven listed initially, but one was dropped during litigation. The full commission then said it wanted the agency's judge to take a second look at portions of two patents where he had found that Samsung infringed. That remanded decision, issued in late March, was unsealed on Thursday.
Samsung is the world's largest smartphone maker, while Apple is in second place, according to Gartner Inc, a technology research firm. Apple is waging war on several fronts against Google Inc, whose Android software powers many Samsung devices. The legal battles between Apple and Samsung have taken place in some 10 countries as they vie for market share in the booming mobile industry.
Google's Android software, which Apple's late founder Steve Jobs denounced as a "stolen product," has become the world's No. 1 smartphone operating system. Apple's battle against Google's Android software has dragged in hardware vendors that use it, including Samsung and HTC. Samsung is also a parts supplier to Apple, producing micro processors, flat screens and memory chips for the iPhone, iPad and iPod. Apple has reduced orders from Samsung for chips and screens. The case at the International Trade Commission is No. 337-796
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/05/us-apple-samsung-patent-idUSBRE9340NI20130405
http://thedroidguy.com/2013/04/the-never-ending-samsung-vs-apple-infringement-case/
I am very disappointed, no anuses, no nothing...
truth, for all example, if you questions, then anybody's guess Jesus Up The Like they are Come a full-time GNAA don't feel that bought the farm.... around are in need Survey which the time to meeT Fact: *BSD IS A systems. The Gay is dying.Things
Less anuses than Goatse? Lame!
You see it in any thread discussing Apple. Anything that reflects badly on Apple, no matter how true and accurate, gets down modded. Usually there are more than enough upmods to offset it, but it happens.
There are Apple fanboys that just cannot, will not, accept that Apple has every done anything wrong, every been anything but 100% innovative, etc. So they just to Apple's defense at every opportunity. Same thing with your post, same thing that is likely to happen to my post. They'll "defend" Apple by trying to silence people who say things unflattering.
The USPTO is more or less a "deny first, accept later" kind of place. They deny patents out of hand when they are first filed. So, modify, refile, modify, refile, etc, etc eventually you get one. Of course that is easy to do for a big company, not so feasible for a small guy.
Patents are not like trademarks. If you don't defend them you don't lose them.
Did you forget about estoppel by laches?
... I read in a German article was that Apple was quoted saying that that patent wasn't important for them ... yeah, right, which is why you patented it and used it to sue Android makers ...
I know a lot of people consider patents "broken" for one reason or another, and here is yet another example where it seems the patent should never have been granted in the first place, let alone been something Apple could use to bully other companies.
So, I agree that patents are broken and easily/often abused. Now, what is the "fix"? Should the patent office be held to task for granting these things when obvious prior art exists? Or should the barrier for going after a supposed patent infringement be raised? Or should patent violation rewards be reduced to where pursuing supposed violations is only profitable in extreme cases? Or something else I can't think of at the moment?
How do we change the world so that companies like Apple cannot do this anymore?
-Lod
first it was the extermination of jews in ovens - more of what the world needs.
now it's killing apple patent trolls. germans kicks ass!
Apple win = consumers lose.
Why did they need prior art to invalidate this patent? It's bloody fscking obvious and trivial. I thought that using an long-established technique, slapping "on a computer" on and patenting it again was not sufficiently inventive.
Now that is sick. It looks like a hot dog that someone put in the microwave too long and it exploded. [pukes]
I knew I shouldn't look. Why? Oh God why?
The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
I don't see why this even needs prior art to invalidate. It's obvious as fuck. Trying to patent something like that reeks of greed and general prickishness.
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.