How will the Palm Pre get around Apple's very comprehensive patents on multitouch and gestures?
US patent 7,479,949 abstract: ( http://is.gd/hvzG )
"A computer-implemented method for use in conjunction with a computing device with a touch screen display comprises: detecting one or more finger contacts with the touch screen display, applying one or more heuristics to the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device, and processing the command. The one or more heuristics comprise: a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a one-dimensional vertical screen scrolling command, a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a two-dimensional screen translation command, and a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a command to transition from displaying a respective item in a set of items to displaying a next item in the set of items."
How will Palm manage to get their Palm UI out without getting in trouble with Apple?
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M$2 Answers
1) On the face of it, what is patented here is not so much the very concept of for example making a pinch gesture on a touchscreen - which would probably be pretty hard to get a patent for! - as a particular way of handling the processing of gestures. They repeatedly talk about the collection of heuristics for recognising the gestures, and it's probably those heuristics that are in some way protected by patent. (However I believe that an algorithm cannot be patented per se, so there is even more to it than that, i.e. the implementation has to be protected rather than the algorithm itself.)
So presumably Palm have figured out their own ways of handling gestures, independently of Apple, and are not in any danger of losing a lawsuit.
2) Large companies like Apple mainly use software patents for defensive purposes. i.e. To make sure that if someone comes after them with a lawsuit, they are covered, and in fact able to threaten a counter-suit. So they probably wouldn't go after Palm anyway, unless Palm someday sues them over something. See this explanation by Paul Graham, the entrepreneur and venture capitalist:
http://www.paulgraham.com/softwarepatents.html
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Yeah! You're right about Palm's patents, too. When I got my first iPhone, some of its hardware features reminded me immediately of the Palm Treo, e.g. the hardware switch to mute the ringer, the SIM card tray and the volume controls.
Great article. Thanks for the link.
You're absolutely right about patenting the heuristics.
There's an interesting article in engadget today about exactly that issue:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/28/apple-vs-palm-the-in-depth-analysis