nice link

and it is a sad day that a bullshit patent is upheld,

Agreed. I was a bit "WTF. Surely this can't be true"

Link to the patent.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=7657849.PN.&OS=PN/7657849&RS=PN/7657849

I dunno after some reading, it bangs on about "While the device is in a pre-defined lock state when it doesn't respond to touch on the display" kind of negates the point that in that state, it has to respond, otherwise it can't unlock... i don't get it. This is why I don't do law.

Edit:
Derp: there's supposed to be references to some kind of images, and when you click the link it takes you here but that doesn't work in firefox, chrome, or internet explorer.

edit2:

Pretty sure it's one thing to be awarded a patent, it's another to hold it up in court. There are cases where courts rule patents invalid no?

Yeah, except now they have legal grounds to sue every other maker, and that means anyone with lawyers who aren't as well paid as apple's A-Team, basically either have to make the cost benefit analysis of spend money fighting it in court, or spend money changing it.

Slide to unlock was a new thing when the iPhone came along though, wasn't it? No doubt this patent was lodged yyeaaaaaars ago and has only now just been granted.
While yes you may think it's obvious becuase every device recently released has used it, I can't think of anything that used it before the original 2G iPhone.

They have a patent pending for something like 'delivery of a message by detection of preferred available system', something to that effect.
Basically the method by which they go "is iMessage available? Yep? Okay, deliver it using that. Can't find it? Okay, fall back to SMS".

I can't think of anything that used it before the original 2G iPhone.

putting "on computers" and "on mobile device" shouldn't instantly mean that any prior art is irrelevant. its obvious to put a digital version on computers that we've been doing for 1000s of years unless its a particularly novel or complex invention. if i can simply read the title of the patent and know how to do it, then this isn't really a very good application for patents.

While yes you may think it's obvious becuase every device recently released has used it

moving your finger in a pattern is not a novel way to unlock a device, a simple pattern of across the screen should be less "paitentable" then a much more complex pattern unlock that android use, yet apple get the patent.

god i hate how cunty apple are.

WE INVENTED SLIDE TO UNLOCK.. ^^^^^^^^^^ so did some of the first gates you just computerized it.

I'm pretty sure the patent actually covers more than "slide to unlock." What I read yesterday said that it covers "a gesture on a touch screen to unlock the phone." How the hell else can you do it? It sounds like they've been granted a patent on using the touchscreen of a touchscreen device to unlock it.

Shit I need to patent double-click with a mouse, I could make a mint

Thought I'd save us a few posts teq, I'm busy this arvo gotta get some work sorted so I can hammer home to play some BF3! ;)

Hog: fuck Apple, they are jerks sometimes!
teq: They are just doing what everyone else does man, and you have an iPhone lol hypocrite much?
Hog: I have a phone but I don't have to agree with patent abuse. Do you really think this is cool?
teq: You're a bitter old cunt pussy. I'm baller and don't give a shit and am never wrong.

Yeah dude, it's randy marsh when he's talking about how to measure the length of your penis.