In Germany, Samsung and Google's Motorola Mobility have finally scored a big win over Apple regarding the user interface patent regarding "unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image".
Germany's Federal Patent Court, Bundespatentgericht, has found the patent invalid as it does not cover all slide-to-unlock gestures--allowing Apple competitors to find loopholes to workaround to avoid infringement. This is quite a famous patent, as all smart phone users use some variation of this motion. However, due to Apple's lack of extensiveness in describing its patent, Samsung and Motorola have been able to find a way around the patent.
For a large part, Apple was defeated in German court due to European law having restrictions on what is patentable and what is not, unlike in the United States, where nearly everything is patentable. German court's decision was based on the fact that the "claimed invention is new over the prior art" only due to the swiping gesture to unlock a device. However, under European patent law, this fails to meet the technicity requirement as the mere action of sliding is visual representation and not deemed a technical innovation. In Europe, according to Foss, Software "as such" is not patentable unless it solves a technical problem with technical means.
According to Mueller's review on his blog, Foss Patent, the German decision can be appealed, so it will be interesting to see what Apple does in retaliation. This is a big patent for them to lose out on, especially because they could have gathered so many royalties on it as nearly all smart phones have need this technology. The fight between Samsung and Apple is being reflected in the market as well, as figures from this week alone indicate that while Apple has extended its lead over Samsung in the United States, Samsung leads worldwide. iOS has regained some lead from Android as of Feb 2013 in the United States, but Samsung's profits are expected to rise 53 percent to around $7.7 billion in the next quarter.
Now that the decisions between the Samsung and Apple battle are finally trickling through, it's interesting to see how the market is reflecting to these changes.
Germany's Federal Patent Court, Bundespatentgericht, has found the patent invalid as it does not cover all slide-to-unlock gestures--allowing Apple competitors to find loopholes to workaround to avoid infringement. This is quite a famous patent, as all smart phone users use some variation of this motion. However, due to Apple's lack of extensiveness in describing its patent, Samsung and Motorola have been able to find a way around the patent.
For a large part, Apple was defeated in German court due to European law having restrictions on what is patentable and what is not, unlike in the United States, where nearly everything is patentable. German court's decision was based on the fact that the "claimed invention is new over the prior art" only due to the swiping gesture to unlock a device. However, under European patent law, this fails to meet the technicity requirement as the mere action of sliding is visual representation and not deemed a technical innovation. In Europe, according to Foss, Software "as such" is not patentable unless it solves a technical problem with technical means.
According to Mueller's review on his blog, Foss Patent, the German decision can be appealed, so it will be interesting to see what Apple does in retaliation. This is a big patent for them to lose out on, especially because they could have gathered so many royalties on it as nearly all smart phones have need this technology. The fight between Samsung and Apple is being reflected in the market as well, as figures from this week alone indicate that while Apple has extended its lead over Samsung in the United States, Samsung leads worldwide. iOS has regained some lead from Android as of Feb 2013 in the United States, but Samsung's profits are expected to rise 53 percent to around $7.7 billion in the next quarter.
Now that the decisions between the Samsung and Apple battle are finally trickling through, it's interesting to see how the market is reflecting to these changes.
I find it interesting that Apple is very focused on consistency across products regardless of region, whereas competitors such as Samsung try to cater to local tastes. This slide-to-unlock feature might be invalidated in German courts but it still stands in the US. But at the same time it seems competitors have already come up with workarounds that are just as good, if not better.
ReplyDeleteA lot of activity out of Germany recently huh. I agree, but I also think that Apple should start to focus on new features that can set them farther apart from the competition.
ReplyDeleteI read the same news. I think it might be good for other companies that Apples lost the patent case for this one. Plus, Apple has applied so many broad patents in order to fight with others.
ReplyDeleteI think that this decision was inevitable, given the common use of the practice in smartphones and the relatively untechnical nature of the patent. For example, I would argue that a patent on desktop icons would be a similar case, wherein the initial novelty of the idea does not necessitate a patent being enforceable, given the design nature of the patent rather than its focus on its technical elements.
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