Microsoft Files Patent for Apple's iPad Page Turning

[manitoublack]

doesn't Microsoft own a sizable chunk of apple? so in essence suing itself? once again I think the US tax payer loses and the Lawyers win.

 

[Guest]

That's weird... I used a flash-based article reader several years ago (almost certainly prior to January 2009) which had a page-turning animation. I think it was used either for a product catalogue, or possibly even for an electronic magazine published by Aviation Week (DTI Weekly or something like that). You clicked on the edge of the page with the mouse, and dragged it across to turn the page. I thought at the time that it was pretty, but an otherwise useless gimmick.
Going from using the mouse on a PC to using a finger on a device where the mouse is replaced by a touch screen & finger is almost the definition of obviousness...

 

[dEAne]

The idea is great but apple should address other issue for its device too.

 

[vaughn2k]

It cannot be patented if its obvious or some companies already using it.
Poor MS.

 

[vaughn2k]

It cannot be patented if its obvious or some companies already using it.
Poor MS.

 

[eddieroolz]

It would be ironic if MS gets the patent. Maybe Apple would simply update iBooks to show a different animation instead.

 

[palladin9479]

[citation][nom]Zingam[/nom]What about small companies and start-ups with limited budgets? They can't patent anything because of that and they cannot protects themselves against companies with 40 billions in cache. This whole story is about the get out of hand! It's ridiculous[/citation]

This is the unfortunate consequence of the current system. Each year companies push and push the limits of reasonably and some judge somewhere lets them do it. It all started when the first company patented something "common sense" in order to attack another company / prevent another company from developing something on the market place. Corporate espionage at its finest. Since all patent applications are public record, many companies develop things in secret and apply for patents immediately prior to press release that their "developing something". If your competitors find out exactly what your thinking of developing, they'll patent the idea's before you can and thus block you out of a market. The small guys get squashed because they don't have the resources or ability to patent things in large amounts. But big companies rarely are looking at the little guys so you can sneak by if your keep your stuff under wraps.

 

[back_by_demand]

MS are hardly patent trolling here

They have had tablet software for nearly a decade and using this idea is something that will quite easily sit on the new generation of Windows based tablets.

The simple question is, who thought of it first - MS or Apple?

Just because Apple implemented it first does not mean they though of it first.

 

[awood28211]

Let's also not forget this is not the first time this has happened.

Read this for ridiculous...also involving Apple..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-Click

It involves clicking one time to buy something with your payment information already entered ahead of time. You know, sign up and give them your credit card info so later you can just click "buy" and not have to re-enter your credit card info again. I mean, obvious right? Most of the patent was struck down but revised and later approved. It took 10 years.

 

[dotaloc]

http://patentabsurdity.com/