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slide-to-unlock

German court invalidates Apple slide-to-unlock patent

In a legal victory for Google and Samsung, a German court has reportedly invalidated all patent claims related to Apple's "slide to unlock" user interface.

Today's ruling by Bundespatentgericht, Germany's federal patent court, is a setback for Apple, which has pressed the patent against Google's Motorola and Samsung in courts across Europe in attempts to secure injunctions preventing the companies' devices from being sold. However, the decision is appealable, according to Foss Patents blogger Florian Mueller, a paid consultant for several tech companies who was first to report on today's ruling.

The ruling, … Read more

Apple wins design patents for slide-to-unlock, original iPhone

Apple was granted design patents today for the contentious slide-to-unlock user interface asset and the design for the original iPhone.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved Apple application No. D675,639 for "ornamental design for a display screen or portion thereof with a graphical user interface," which includes illustrations of the familiar horizontal bars with rounded corners found at the bottom of locked iOS screens since the original iPhone's debut in 2007.

Slide-to-unlock functionality has become a major sticking point with handset makers. Apple, which was granted a patent for the feature in 2011, has … Read more

German court pushes Apple's slide-to-unlock lawsuit back

Apple and Samsung are locked in a slide-to-unlock dispute in a Mannheim court, but neither side should expect a decision anytime soon.

Mannheim regional judge Andreas Voss today said that the court would wait until the German Patent and Trademark Office hears Apple's case before it continues. According to FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller, which first reported on the news, the patent office proceeding could lead to "the revocation, in whole or in part, of Apple's slide-to-unlock utility model."

As Mueller points out, Apple is staking its claims against Samsung on that utility model, which is not … Read more

Google files for slide-to-unlock patent as Apple battle heats up

Who would have thought a simple slide-to-unlock gesture would be so important?

Google last week saw a patent it filed for back in 2010 published that describes a manner in which users interact with a smartphone--or PC--to unlock the device and perform at least one command. According to the patent filing, the commands can be anything from placing a phone call to opening an application.

The publication is a key step in Google acquiring the patent, since it establishes full prior art for any other patent applications that might pop up worldwide.

Unlike typical unlocking mechanisms, which bring users back … Read more