USPTO may invalidate another of Apple’s key multitouch patents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a first Office action declaring all twenty claims of one of Apple's key multitouch patents invalid. The decision that was filed Monday isn't final, but Apple will have its work cut out for it in order to overturn the initial ruling before it's set in stone.

US Patent #7,479,949, claiming a "[t]ouch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics," essentially covers iOS's ability to respond when a user is trying to scroll vertically in a document, or trying to move around within the document in multiple directions. It also covers iOS's ability to discern the difference between swiping among images in a gallery, or panning or zooming within the image.

The patent is sometimes referred to as the "Steve Jobs patent," as Jobs' name is listed first among the many Apple engineers cited as inventors of the patented claims.

Apple has asserted the '949 patent in several venues, particularly in federal court against HTC and Motorola, and at the International Trade Commission against Samsung. Apple and HTC settled the 50 separate lawsuits pending between the two companies, reaching a highly publicized agreement to cross-license certain technologies. Judge Richard Posner ruled several of its claims invalid, but eventually tossed the suit between Apple and Motorola before it ever reached trail.

However, a judge at the ITC has initially ruled that the patent in question is valid and that Samsung (in separate litigation with Apple) infringed its claims. The final ruling in that case could come as soon as February.

A first Office action from the USPTO is usually just the first step of many in the process of re-examining a patent. However, as FOSS Patents noted, the fact that all 20 of the claims were rejected on an initial basis means that Apple will have to make a very convincing case to the USPTO that the patent should not be revoked.

The USPTO recently issued a first Office action invalidating another important Apple multitouch patent which covers iOS's "rubber banding" effect. You see this effect when you try to move past the edge of a document, image, or list; you can pull past the edge, but then it "bounces" back into place when you stop. A jury ruled that Samsung infringed this patent in 18 devices that were part of the Apple v. Samsung trial.