Foss Patent is reporting that Apple has been successful in getting their ITC patent case against Motorola Mobility reverse on appeal.
According to the report, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sided with Apple with respect to two Apple multi-touch patents that was asserted against Motorola Mobility, but dismissed by the ITC in 2012.
These patents are;
- U.S. Patent No. 7,663,607 on a “multipoint touchscreen”, and
- U.S. Patent No. 7,812,828 on an “ellipse fitting for multi-touch surfaces”.
The patents have been asserted and could be reasserted anytime against Samsung, the report states.
“The ‘607 patent, a potentially very powerful hardware patent, was deemed invalid by the ITC. But the Federal Circuit finds the ITC’s reasoning deficient as far as independent claim 10 of the patent — one of the claims asserted by Apple — is concerned,” Florian Mueller writes for Foss Patent. “The ITC will have to make a new determination, and based on the appellate decision, claim 10 may ultimately be found valid, in which case Google faces an infringement problem. Very recently an anonymous reexamination request was filed against this patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.”
Mueller believes that if Apple wins, this could be bigger than their victory against Samsung last year.
Mueller also published the following passage from one judge’s dissent-in-part (Circuit Judge Reyna would have sided with Apple on even more claims) underscores the importance of the ‘607 patent and credits Apple for groundbreaking “true innovation”:
“The Smartphone has defined modern life. Be it in the workplace, the home, airports, or entertainment venues across America, individuals are tethered to their handheld devices. Not long ago, users primarily spoke into these devices. Today, fingers tapping, grazing, pinching, or scrolling the screen is a ubiquitous image that reflects how we conduct business, work, play, and live. The asserted patent in this case is an invention that has propelled not just technology, but also dramatically altered how humans across the globe interact and communicate. It marks true innovation.”
Take that Apple haters.