Apple Attempting to Trademark “Multi-Touch”
- July 8th, 2007 - 12.04 pm UTC
- Patents Filed / Issued
- Alex Brooks
Apple appears to be making moves across the globe to trademark the term “multi-touch.”
Multi-touch is the famous technology that brought us the iPhone and Apple has made recent explorations into multi-touch mice as seen in a patent filings.
Apple has filed for the term in a Far East Intellectual Property Office as well as with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Both with an application date of June 30.
The following is a description of the term “multi-touch” from the trademark application;
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Handheld mobile digital electronic devices with electronic mail, digital data transmission, audio player, video player, handheld computer, personal digital assistant, electronic organizer, electronic notepad, telephone, computer gaming, and camera functions, and computer software for use with such devices
Comments
Bill 9th October 2009, 14.13 pm
This is absolutely absurd. This is like a company being able to patent the mouse and not let anyone else use it (which is likely what happened when the mouse came out I am guessing and everyone just ignored it). You shouldn’t be able to patent a whole input technology. Apple can take their “multi touch” input and shove it, I will use solely a keyboard before I acknowledge that Apple invented this technology. It has been around since the 80s. The only way they got the iPhone stuff the way it is is because they bought Fingerworks and took its tech.