APPLE DENIED TRADEMARK ON "MULTI-TOUCH"

In a decision handed down by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Apple has been denied an application for a trademark on the term Multi-Touch. Apple originally applied for the trademark on January 9, 2007, the day the iPhone was introduced. A lawyer for the USPTO denied Apple's initial trademark application and the company appealed to the Appeal Board. The board upheld the initial refusal to grant the trademark.

For trademarks, "the greater the degree of descriptiveness the term has, the heavier the burden to prove it has attained secondary meaning." The trademark attorney pointed out that the term "multitouch" has taken on generic meaning, being used by a wide variety of publications to describe the touchscreen technology on Android phones, tablets, and notebooks.

There is a list of items that can determine if a mark has "acquired distinctiveness", including sales success, length and exclusivity of use, and advertising expenditures. The board ruled that Apple has not met the burden to be granted a trademark on multi-touch.

USPTO REJECTS SEVERAL OF ORACLE'S PATENT CLAIMS AGAINST GOOGLE

Much ink has been spilled about Oracle's lawsuit against Google for Android's allegedly unlawful use of Java, and rightfully so, considering Team Ellison's seeking to take more than a billion dollar chunk out of Google's bottom line. Just because Oracle's damage calculations add up to ten figures doesn't mean that the court will agree with them, however. And, there's a long legal road to be tread before the court can assign a dollar value to the case -- namely it must determine if the patent claims and copyrights are valid and whether Android actually infringes them.

That's why Google requested the USPTO re-examine the patents asserted by Oracle, as the process gives Google a shot at invalidating them outside the courtroom. It looks like the strategy is paying off, as one of those re-exams recently resulted in a rejection of 17 of the patent's 21 claims -- which reduces the number of claims Oracle can assert in court accordingly. Of course, those four remaining claims plus the 118 contained in the other six asserted patents (should they survive the re-examination process) could still spell doom for the little green bots, but it is a victory, albeit a modest one, for the team in Mountain View. So, Oracle may have a few less IP bullets to fire Google's way, but it's still got plenty of other legal ammo left.

MICROSOFT FIGHTING 'APP STORE' TRADEMARK

Microsoft has asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to deny a trademark request by Apple, Inc. on the name “App Store.” The Redmond software giant called the term “generic” and thinks “competitors should be able to use it.” The trademark application for “App Store” is currently listed as pendingin the USPTO’s system; the Cupertino company has already been granted trademark protection on its App Store slogan “there’s an app for that.”

“‘App store’ is a generic name that Apple should not be permitted to usurp for its exclusive use. Competitors should be free to use ‘app store’ to identify their own stores and the services offered in conjunction with those stores,” said a Microsoft representative.

The opposition was filed on January 10th; Apple has yet to publicly comment on Microsoft’s appeal.

APPLE AWARDED LIMITED PINCH-TO-ZOOM PATENT

Apple just added another arrow to its patent quiver.  The USPTO has granted Apple a limited patent on the pinch-to-zoom gesture used on touch displays.  The patent is specific as to what it covers, however there is a timing issue that is very open.  The patent reads:

1. A multitouch display detects at least two contacts.
2. Those contacts perform a first gesture.
3. That gesture adjusts an image in some way: magnification, orientation and rotation are specifically claimed, but the patent is broad enough to cover virtually any adjustment.
4. The first set of contacts is broken.
5. A second set of contacts is detected.
6. The second contacts perform another gesture within a pre-determined period of time.
7. The gesture continues to adjust the image in the same way.

Steps 5-7 are worth noting, Apple does not have a patent on pinch-to-zoom generally, but rather pinching to zoom and pinching to zoom again within a certain time frame.  The specific amount of time is not noted, although it must be somewhere, so this patent wouldn't really apply unless there is a clock ticking and a second gesture takes place.

This patent now granted will be retroactive to December 20, 2005 the original filing date, which is way before anyone had ideas on how prevalent touchscreen displays would be. [Engadget] 

APPLE TRADEMARKS 'THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT'

Apple has successfully trademarked their slogan 'There's an app for that'.  In their filing, Apple states:

Retail store services featuring computer software provided via the internet and other computer and electronic communication networks; retail store services featuring computer software for use on handheld mobile digital electronic devices and other consumer electronics.


Click the picture below to see the full description. [USPTO]

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