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I hope you’re not a huge fan of skeumorphic virtual page turning. If you are, I hope you have an iOS device. Why? Because Apple just got a patent for that. Yup, Apple has a patent on turning fake pages.
Patent D670,713, titled “Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface” was approved by the USPTO this week and effectively gives Apple dibs on the animation that’s so painstakingly documented in the image above. The patent is—as valuable patents tend to be—both simple and extremely broad. The design patent merely covers the sequential animation of the frames show in the three figures, but makes no mention of what this animation applies to. So this patent is actually broader than just an eBook thing, although that’s probably it’s only use. On the other hand though, it should only apply to that specific animation, not others like it.
This is just a design patent, so it’s not like Apple’s ownership of this patent will keep other eReaders from providing functionality; it’ll just keep them from looking like books while doing it. Or force them to simulate page turning from the top corner instead of the bottom. Granted, this isn’t world shattering stuff, but it all seems pretty stupid. Is this really stuff that we need to be patenting? [The New York Times]
Newspaper Celebrates "Going Digital" With Binary Front Page
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World's Largest Atlas Needs Two People To Turn Each Page
Surely this could be disproved with A) Legitimate prior art in apps, and B) with prior art in, y’know, books.
You would hope so but didn’t large American companies lobby a bunch of corrupt American politicians, to change it from a first inventor to a first to file system to make it easier for companies with large amounts of money to steal other peoples idea’s and monopolise everything !
Isn’t one of the key things a patent needs to be is Non-Obvious?
I suppose that’ll mean the Kindle App is about to disappear from the App Store.
All this means is you can’t turn the pages of your virtual book in this exact and very specific way.In Google Books for instance the page edge moves across and the page “bows” in the middle. In the Kindle app the page just slides sideways.
You’re right of course. I’m just commenting to say that I hate your avatar.
Can’t stop gloating, can we?
That’s right. Bad Darrell, Bad!
I might be wrong, but it seems to me that whenever there is an announcement of a new feature its always a patent. Whereas other companies just seem to implement the damn thing! While all we read about is apple getting yet again another patent for something! Try going back through the gizmodo pages, you’ll see!
That’s a damn fine way to turn a page.
In 1992 I used Hypercard from Claris (an offshoot of Apple back then) to create for Bitstream Corp a very realistic simulation of an electronic book/notepad. It featured simulated page turning too, so I wonder if that counts as prior art?
This Is why I hope Apple FAIL, Because they don’t play fair with dirty tactics and the Patent system is a joke for allowing such patent.
Apple are the troll of modern technology.
Apple can go f*** themselves along with the corrupt US patent system I say that as a iPhone user not a Apple hater. I used to think Apple took other peoples ideas and implemented them better, but now they just steal other peoples ideas or should that be steal basic logic and stick the word digital next to it, to gain an unfair competitive advantage and extort money from people. When these spurious patents are overturned what are you left with ? a large legal bill and a bad reputation. Stop being a bully and a thief Apple it will be your undoing !
Apple have been stealing other peoples ideas for decades, many a small Mac peripheral add-on company has gone to the wall because Apple decided to copy their innovative product and stick the Apple logo on it.
No mistake that their Mac OS is named after predators
Should be named things like, ascaris, tapeworm, blowfly. Ya know, after their actual namesakes, i.e. parasites.
Can someone tell me whether Apple has filed plans to produce a waterproof or indestructible iPad version? Just based on a big point they made to introduce the iPad mini: They want to make the iPad accessible to more people and in more ways, I would have thought divers, builders and bath readers might appreciate these types of models? No?
I wonder how long it’ll be until they patent a basic human bodily function.
You dare BREATHE sir? We’ve patented that. You’ll be hearing from our lawyers.
I will patent the arse wipe. The act of wiping ones arse. I will call it the ‘iWipe’. Then apple will steal it from me as they own the letter ‘i’.
iPatent strikes again.. what a waste of time.. tools.
iTools.