Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Trademarking 'Multi-touch'

ajhill said:
So a multitouch iMac might not be as far fetched as you might think at first.
Click to expand...

I am not so sure. AN iMac with a multi touch input maybe, but not a multi touch iMac.

What I mean is that an iMac is a desk top system. The monitor is vertical at the back... and your keyboard/mouse is within reach in front of you.

To make the screen mutli touch would be a step backward for input ease... no one will want to reach that far back for input, no matter how nice the interface.

I think it is more likely that a multi touch input device will be added, like the mouse referred to elsewhere on this forum. I just think it would be cost prohibitive to have a multi-touch lcd panel (in addition to the regular screen) to replace something as big as a keyboard, no matter how cool that might be.

But I do not doubt that is the direction Apple is headed.
 
Williams (aka Bally-Williams) trademarked the term "Multi-Ball" for pinball and started to sue when Data East (later became Sega and is now Stern) used the term in their own games. They eventually settled, but for a long time their games switched to calling multi-ball modes "Tri-Ball" and the like. The problem with something like tri-ball is it implies a maximum of 3 balls whereas multi-ball is anything more than one, thus any game Data East made that had more than 3 had to have yet another name attached to it needlessly because of such stupid laws (and they are STUPID because they use no common sense half the time, especially patent offices which allow patents for really dumb things--software being the worst of all lately.) Williams also held the patents for many pinball standard parts and so Data East flippers always sucked because they could not use a good solenoid configuration lest Williams sue them for using their method of wrapping copper around an iron core....)

What's all this got to do with Apple? Stifling innovation, that's what. Block the little building block parts so the bigger picture can't be made by others. Given Apple's own name problems with another Apple out there that came FIRST and given they broke their own agreement to stay out of the music industry, you'd think Apple might have learned something along the way, but in truth I expect all businesses to act like cads in all things regardless of their own past.

So if all this goes through just imagine what others will have to call their multi-touch pads instead of multi-touch. Tri-Touch? Double-Touch? Fingery-Touch? You would THINK "multiple touch" is self descriptive and so it shouldn't be allowed, but it didn't stop Williams with Multi-ball (describing multiple balls on the playfield at once).
 
My initial response to this news was to get angry and write a lengthy reply about how I hate the patent office, but then I figured if Apple doesn't patent this, someone will - and they will try to sue. It's happened before, so there's nothing wrong with Apple trying to save their butts.

Fishes,
narco.
 
narco said:
My initial response to this news was to get angry and write a lengthy reply about how I hate the patent office, but then I figured if Apple doesn't patent this, someone will - and they will try to sue. It's happened before, so there's nothing wrong with Apple trying to save their butts.

Fishes,
narco.
Click to expand...

Grrrr....what gets me angry are people who confuse patents, trademarks and copyrights.

They make PERFECT sense...if you stop a second to think about it.
 
gwangung said:
Grrrr....what gets me angry are people who confuse patents, trademarks and copyrights.

They make PERFECT sense...if you stop a second to think about it.
Click to expand...

Sorry to make you angry, buddy. I will take a few seconds to think about it during my lunch break. My apologies - I won't pretend to know anything about patents, trademarks and copyrights any longer. Apparently I did a miserable job at it anyway.

DOWN WITH THE SYSTEM.

Fishes,
narco.
 
MagnusVonMagnum said:
What's all this got to do with Apple? Stifling innovation, that's what. Block the little building block parts so the bigger picture can't be made by others.
Click to expand...

I do not agree. Apple is protecting their name for this, uh, device. And they will protect their method of how they accomplish this. But just because someone cannot use the term "Multi Touch" does not stifle anything. Other companies will develop their own solutions if this takes off and proves popular. They will just have to call it something different. It does NOT stop them from making similar solutions.

Even in your example, the multi-ball effect proved to be popular. Did other makers stop using it- no. They just had to rename it. Tri-Touch is a silly example, but nothing wrong with "Digit-All Input" or "Touch sensitive" or "Pressure-Matic".

MagnusVonMagnum said:
You would THINK "multiple touch" is self descriptive and so it shouldn't be allowed
Click to expand...

I think the difference may be that, while it is descriptive, it is a relatively new term, not one used before in this context. Prior to Williams Multi-Ball, was that term used for any specific idea? Not really. Same here... Just a thought!
 
why apply for a trademark in the far east?


and what possible benefits is there to having a multitouch imac?
 
numlock said:
why apply for a trademark in the far east?
Click to expand...

Well, if you have a mark, you want to protect it everywhere it is sold. China is a MAJOR emerging market. Might also have something to do with that is where they will be made????

numlock said:
and what possible benefits is there to having a multitouch imac?
Click to expand...

You might as well ask what possible benefit is it to an iMac to use a mouse? A better, more user-friendly input device is a benefit to ANY computer...Mac or PC. A full touch screen iMac, I agree- that would be more a hassle than a useful tool. But an iMac with a MT interface/input device is what I would consider the next logical step.
 
Types of trademarks

carfac said:
For those interested in FACTS, here is the definition of a trademark from the USPTO:

A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name.
Click to expand...

The definition doesn't help much in determining whether a word is capable of being protected. The USPTO and the courts will classify the word along a "spectrum." At one end are generic terms that can never be protected. These are words that are necessary to describe a product, so that protecting them would prevent competitors from selling a competing product. A classic example is "light" as in beer.

Next up the list is "merely descriptive": such terms describe the actual characteristics of a product. They can be protected, but only after the public has come to associate the term with the source of the product. Examples include "DietRite" for colas and "Windows" for operating systems.

Then there are suggestive, arbitrary, and fanciful terms, which are always protectable. "Microsoft" is a suggestive term, "Apple" is an arbitrary term, and "Xerox" is a fanciful term.

"Multi-touch" is at best descriptive, and might even be generic. If the former, it can't be protected until consumers begin to associate the word "multi-touch" with Apple products - as the definition says, a trademark identifies the source of the product, not the product itself. But if there is no other way to describe devices that operate in this way, then "multi-touch" is generic and cannot be protected.

carfac said:
I believe (but I am not sure) that Trademarks are case insensitive. The dash would make a difference, though. If you search existing Trademarks on the USPTO site, the results are full caps, which would make me think this.
Click to expand...

Not only are they case-insenstive, but they are also insensitive to dashes (and other punctuation) and alternative spellings. The whole idea is to avoid consumer confusion. So if "Multi-touch" is protectable, a competitor cannot use "Multitouch" or even something like "Multi Tutch."
 
As I understand it, aren't the cameras in the Microsoft Surface technology used for other purposes? Such as detecting different types of objects that are placed on the 'surface', detecting what they are, and providing some sort of action for said object?
 
Unless Apple is putting multi-touch into that new 12" widescreen MacBook Pro mini or ultra portable 11" widescreen laptop with amazing battery life... or that new iPod that is a year behind schedule or the iPhone Version 2 that is opened to other carriers besides Cingular.

Then we can see some real technology being produced and used by the masses. Until Apple gets on the ball with making real innovative technology... why worry about stupid trademarks?

stevehayter said:
As I understand it, aren't the cameras in the Microsoft Surface technology used for other purposes? Such as detecting different types of objects that are placed on the 'surface', detecting what they are, and providing some sort of action for said object?
Click to expand...

Actually you are right. Another poster said that Apple's touch sensitive tech was more advanced than Microsofts but he/she was far mistaken. The device that MS made has the ability to interact with not only other objects but other tech. You could place your cell phone next to it and it would send info to the device and it worked with PDAs and other tech that was compatible with it. That is actually pretty innovative... the iPhone's touch screen just lets you work your way through a very intuitive and innovative User Interface, but it can't interact with anything other than your finger.
 
Another poster said that Apple's touch sensitive tech was more advanced than Microsofts but he/she was far mistaken. The device that MS made has the ability to interact with not only other objects but other tech. You could place your cell phone next to it and it would send info to the device and it worked with PDAs and other tech that was compatible with it. That is actually pretty innovative... the iPhone's touch screen just lets you work your way through a very intuitive and innovative User Interface, but it can't interact with anything other than your finger.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be cheaper and simpler to just use RFID? the MS solution is actually cumbersome and potentially error prone.
 
I don't get it? I could have sworn Steve Jobs said that multi-touch technology belonged to them at the iPhone debut keynote. I know he at least said the iPhone and its features were either patented, copyrighted, or trademarked...I just forget which one; but even with one of those, wouldn't Apple have the rights to it to begin with? I'm probably missing something.
 
entropys said:
Wouldn't it be cheaper and simpler to just use RFID? the MS solution is actually cumbersome and potentially error prone.
Click to expand...

Not that the MS way is perfect... just that it does more than what the iPhone's touch screen can do. If I could place my friend's cell phone or iPhone next to my own and get his contact number or something like that then it would be more useful. Other than that it is just a touch screen.

morphineseason said:
I don't get it? I could have sworn Steve Jobs said that multi-touch technology belonged to them at the iPhone debut keynote. I know he at least said the iPhone and its features were either patented, copyrighted, or trademarked...I just forget which one; but even with one of those, wouldn't Apple have the rights to it to begin with? I'm probably missing something.
Click to expand...

You have it right... Apple is trying to trademark the name 'multi-touch'
 
Digital Skunk said:
Not that the MS way is perfect... just that it does more than what the iPhone's touch screen can do. If I could place my friend's cell phone or iPhone next to my own and get his contact number or something like that then it would be more useful. Other than that it is just a touch screen.



You have it right... Apple is trying to trademark the name 'multi-touch'
Click to expand...

I knew I missed something. That's kind of bad on Apple's part...waiting until this late in the game to trademark the name "multi-touch", considering Steve was referring to it as just that at the iPhone debut keynote. They need to be quicker about these things, especially in a world where Microsoft steals nearly all of Apple's ideas ;)
 
NewSc2 said:
what about all those videos we saw for Jeff Han's "multi-touch" products?
Click to expand...

He should have trademarked it.


The term MultiTouch or Multi-Touch is allowed to be trademarked because it's not a word in common usage by companies. Everyone calls this technolog "touch-screen", and that's what it essentially is for common folk (despite the need to place 2 fingers on the screen to control things in some instances). If Apple tried to trademark "Touch-Screen" technology, I don't think they'd be successful, or I certainly hope not. However, "MultiTouch" should be up for grabs.
 
that Far East intellectual property office = Hong Kong S.A.R.


1.jpg


2.jpg
 
Multi Touch mouse pad? Kinda Cool. Multi-touch screen? WAY COOL!!!

I don't know why Apple isn't making a multi-touch laptop on the screen rather than on the mouse pad???
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back