Ok, look, it was kind of amusing for a while, but at what point does the back-and-forth on the smartphone patent situation just become too much to bear? We surely must be close, with Apple being awarded the patent that describes doing stuff with a thing unlocking a touchscreen device by, incredibly, using the touchscreen on that device. Hello mind. Commence boggling.
The patent was originally filed in June of 2009, but was only recently approved.
According to 9to5Mac, the actual wording of the document stipulates that: "The device displays one or more unlock images with respect to which the predefined gesture is to be performed in order to unlock the device. The performance of the predefined gesture with respect to the unlock image may include moving the unlock image to a predefined location and/or moving the unlock image along a predefined path.
"The device may also display visual cues of the predefined gesture on the touch screen to remind a user of the gesture."
Which, of course, to our addled non-legally-trained minds, seems to say that if you touch your screen to unlock your phone in any way that produces a programmed reaction from your phone, then you're using Apple patented tech. Actually, it doesn't even stop there. The patent seems to cover any device that could conceivably fit under the labels 'portable' and 'hand-held'.
The importance of this, obviously, is that every other smartphone and tablet manufacturer uses gesture-based software to allow for unlocking of their devices. Quite what this means, and particularly what Apple can and will do with this patent, is unclear, but it is no doubt a heck of a club to have in your hands, and of course to wave aggressively at your competitors from time to time.
If you are a person who enjoys understands patent law, check out this copy of the patent application, complete with handy dandy images demonstrating how one might go about unlocking a device using your hands and a touchscreen - it's hosted, of all people, by Google.
One diagram that had us stumped was the one showing 'optical intensity' measured against 'completion' with various different curves. We figure it has something to do with shifting from an unlocked visual state to a locked visual state, but they needed to use three different diagrams to demonstrate this concept, so we're thinking about it some more. Any takers?
