Big Label Tech Manufacturers Duke it Out Over Touch Screen Patents

Since 2007, Apple’s been trying to land a patent for touch screen functionality on portable devices. This makes total sense, given the popularity of the company’s hugely successful iPhone and iPad products.

The lawsuit was actually duked out with Nokia, the phone manufacturer, and has been dragging on since the initial filing. This final outcome could cause issues for the world’s other device makers, like Samsung, Motorola and RIM.

Undoubtedly, we can expect an influx of more lawsuits, but thus is the history of technology.

One company has always “borrowed” from another, and certain brands have earned a reputation for pirating new developments away from competitors.

But if you actually think about it, all technology has been borrowed since the dawn of time. Consider, for a moment, the wheel. Some fellow rocking a grungy pelt thought up the wheel – and then some other fellow came along and thought up the cart. Eventually, a genius would come along and make several improvements to the cart, including a motor.

In today’s society, the wheel-maker would sue the cart-maker and the cart-maker would then turn around and sue the new-and-improved cart-maker.

The whole process is an encouragement to avoid innovation – why bother improving upon something if you’re just going to get sued for it?

In the case of Apple, they may have one the coveted touch screen patent (for now), but it was actually IBM, back in the 70s, who first began aggressively innovating touch screen technology. And before IBM, it was other, now defunct tech companies that delved into the innovation.

Curious to see the patent for yourself? It’s patent number 7, 966,578 and it is, by definition, “[a] computer-implemented method, for use in conjunction with a portable multifunction device with a touch screen display, [that] comprises displaying a portion of page content, including a frame displaying a portion of frame content and also including other content of the page, on the touch screen display.”

So don’t even think of developing a better  computer-implemented multifunction touch screen device.

For those that aren’t inventors and just want to rent the things, keep in mind that we offer all of the very latest touch screen rental devices – from digital displays to interactive whiteboards.