Apple Wins Multi-Touch Screen Patent
Apple was granted 24 new patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office yesterday, including one entitled "Multipoint touchscreen" that could potentially be big trouble for manufacturers of other multi-touch devices, ie, practically every other smartphone and tablet on the market.
The abstract of this patent reads:
"A touch panel having a transparent capacitive sensing medium configured to detect multiple touches or near touches that occur at the same time and at distinct locations in the plane of the touch panel and to produce distinct signals representative of the location of the touches on the plane of the touch panel for each of the multiple touches is disclosed."
The full patent, which also contains references to over 400 other existing patents dating back to 1956, can be viewed at http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...8+AND+AN/Apple)
This could spell big trouble for non-Apple smart phones and tablets everywhere, as recent patent fights have even forced some products off the shelves!
