Judge's Ruling Upholds Apple Patent, Could Jeopardize Android's Future in US

From DailyTech: Thus far Apple, Inc. (AAPL) has seen its patents narrowed or invalidated in U.S. court. At best it's cobbled together a handful of UI patents like gallery page flipping, kinetic scrolling, swipe-to-unlock, and a bounce back animation. Together, these patents could make Android a bit less pleasant, but it would be far from “game over” as Google Inc. (GOOG) would be free to continue sales and continue to attack Apple with retaliatory litigation in hopes of reaching a licensing truce, while pursuing workarounds.

But Apple has one strong hope of achieving its ultimate objective -- killing its top competitor and granting itself control over the U.S. smartphone market. That patent is U.S. Patent No. 7,479,949, Apple's infamous "multi-touch patent".

The patent claims invention not of a particular narrow, precisely defined algorithm, but rather on an abstract description of all algorithms relating to the use of multi-touch displays. Basically, the patent covers how when your fingers are moving in semi-linear directions, the idea of removing the wobble in order to get a usable gesture.

Virtually every Android device sold today uses multi-touch. Without a method of allowing for accurate touch these devices would be rendered useless. And that's precisely what Apple is hoping for.

After scoring an early victory in January on the patent, Apple scored another win in a more in-depth judicial analysis of the claims in Apple's patent, and Google subsidiary/Android phonemaker Motorola Mobility's (the named defendant) complaints about the patent.

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