Apple wins patent for iPhone touch-screen controls

An inflatable iPhone in Hong Kong. Apple has won a US patent for touch-screen controls and gained a potential legal weapon against iPhone competitors

Apple has won a US patent for touch-screen controls and gained a potential legal weapon against iPhone competitors.

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• ryuuguu - Jan 27, 2009
  • Rank: 3 / 5 (2)
  you gotta love the US patent office. Apple will stop palm from producing touch screen PDA with it's new patent half of witch pal invented first. Well it is only a US patnet so far, luckily occasionally Europe does stand by these patent trolls.
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• CreepyD - Jan 27, 2009
  • Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
  Things like this surely stifle technological progress as competitors are unable to progress in a similar way. Good for profits, bad for technology, also bad for consumers.
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• delusioned - Jan 27, 2009
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
  Ironically patents are meant to promote technological advancement by providing incentive.
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• paulthebassguy - Jan 27, 2009
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (2)
  After reading this I think that a vast amendment of patent law is needed with respect to technology.
  
  Most current patent laws were drafted in the 1800s, and now need to be changed so they encourage R&D in the technology industry.
  
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• Arikin - Jan 28, 2009
  • Rank: 3.3 / 5 (3)
  Oh get a life! Patents are suppose to help protect hard work. Stop copying and start creating!
  
  This is to push other companies and individuals to find a better way. There are better ways to do almost anything. It just requires people to get off their lazy butts and start being pro-active and creative.
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• deatopmg - Feb 02, 2009
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
  http://www.physor...207.html
  may be the problem w/ most of the posters above.
  
  Patents protect those who advance technology for a period of time (20 yrs from disclosure), granting them exclusive of use their invention while teaching the rest of us how to practice that technology. With the knowledge of how that technology works, it spurs others to figure out better ways to do the same thing so those inventors can leapfrog the existing technology and so on and so on. The patent system simply gives the biggest return to the maximum number of people. (Open source, driven by a tiny, idealistic, percentage of the population who have found other ways to feed themselves, also works, but not as well as the patent system.)
  
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• Roach - Mar 17, 2009
  • Rank: not rated yet
  The good news is if Palm can show their development tree and establish the technology was in the pipes prior to Apples patent application was finalized, then Palm can bypass all of Apples crap.
  
  Arikin, you're a moron, If logic like yours was allowed to persist, then everyone would be drive Benz brand cars. If this really made sence then someone should have patented click and drag, besides I'm pretty sure that my old laptop had a multi touch touchpad, circa 1999/2000 the only thing apple is trying to claim is that they were th first to put in on a touchscreen, only they aren't even patenting that since that's not their tech either, they are trying to patent a movement. but if you really believe what you say, next time you pinch to make a zit on your face small maybe you should go service Mr. jobs in the mens room to pay liquidated damages to cupertino.
  
  Once and for all, Apple didn't invent anything, it's like saying ford invented the wheel, no they buy wheels from other manufactures. only in Ford's case they spec design and components, in this case it was an off the shelf item.
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• Arikin - Mar 18, 2009
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  Yes. I did over react a bit :-)
  
  I was more angry at people saying its not fair that company A improves older technology by company B. Complaining doesn't move technology forward, curiosity and motivation does. People seem to be content to copy and paste an exact copy instead of improving (please note that most inventions are an improvement of previous technology).
  
  I do agree with what deatopmg said.
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