Apple Snags Multi-touch Patent, Palm Shivers

Everyone like a little "multi-touch," and apparently Apple does too, as the company scored the patent to rotate, swipe and...pinch? Ouch!

As of January 20, Apple is now the proud owner of a bouncy, patent number 7,479,949 covering multi-touch functionality such as swipe, rotate and even pinch. Specifically, the patent wears the proud title of "touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics." Apple originally filed the 358-page document on September 5, 2007 signed by 21 Apple employees including Steve Jobs and Scott Forestall. Intended for the Apple iPhone, the patent covers every function a happy finger could think of, and then more.

The patent begins with the following paragraph: "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."

So what about all that pinching? Apple's has that covered too: "In some embodiments, a multi-finger de-pinching gesture magnifies the image 1606 by a variable amount in accordance with the position of the multi-finger de-pinching gesture and the amount of finger movement in the multi-finger de-pinching gesture. In some embodiments, a multi-finger pinching gesture de-magnifies the image 1606 by a variable amount in accordance with the position of the multi-finger pinching gesture and the amount of finger movement in the multi-finger pinching gesture."

Apple's new patent may cause quite a stir with Palm's new Palm Web OS and its Palm Pre handset utilizing the "pinch" touchscreen feature. Tech Trader Daily reports that Palm shares dropped in fear of a patent infringement suit with Apple. Last week Apple COO Tim Cook said that the company would not stand for having its "IP ripped off" during the company's post-earnings conference call. Indeed, if Palm has crossed into patent infringement territory, it would seem likely that Apply would pursue prompt litigation. In North America, patents are enforced through the Federal court, typically ending with injunctions prohibiting further violations and monetary compensation.

“If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves,” a Palm spokesperson said last week.

Ooooh. Them sound like fightin' words