The Apple lawyers haven’t been distracted by the launch of the iPhone 5, although I’m sure they all pre-ordered themselves one after getting their latest court victory.
This time it’s Google’s very own newly acquired Motorola Mobility (still sounds like one of those old peoples’ shopping buggies) devices that have been in the firing line.
The patent dispute is one that cropped its head up during the recent landmark Apple vs Samsung case: “rubber band scrolling”.
Rubber band scrolling (or “overscroll bounce”) is when one holds and pulls an icon, for example, across a touch-screen that then bounces back to its original position again once released.
A German court has ruled in Apple’s favour resulting in Motorola being forced to recall all devices that have been shipped in the country that use this technology. This is known to include both phones and tablets. In addition, Motorola will have to pay historical damages for past infringements.
Luckily this is a software issue, and therefore should be easily fixable with over the air updates, but it does serve as a strict warning to other companies that they can’t fly under the radar whilst Apple are busy with Samsung.
Motorola had some success suing Apple in Germany earlier this year over the unlicensed use of their wireless technology, resulting in a temporary sales ban on certain iOS devices.
Is it really worth going to court over a screen animation? It seems Apple think so. I suppose it’s the principle of the matter, and you can’t argue with that. However, I’ve used several Android launchers that seem to do the same trick, so it begs the question as to whether we’ll see Apple targeting them?
Source – The Guardian
Oh, by the way, sorry for the cheesy title, I couldn’t help myself!
FOAD Apple