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55 Comments

RIM faces new lawsuit over touchscreen patents

By Jared DiPane on 12 Apr 2012 05:00 pm
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RIM is no stranger to lawsuits, they come and go. The latest lawsuit is aimed at not only RIM, but also Apple. It comes from a Texas shell company that is creatively named Touchscreen Patents. RIM has apparently infringed on this patent in the way that the BlackBerry PlayBook handles gestures like dragging across the screen, as well as single and double taps. These patents were originally issued in 2007 and 2008 to a Taiwanese company, and since have been transfered to Touchscreen Patents. Details on the infringement as well as the transfer of the patents is limited at this point.

Source: PaidContent; via: PhoneScoop

Topics: Patents Research In Motion Lawsuit Touchscreen Patent News & Rumors

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Jared DiPane Jared DiPane 282 (articles) 5983 (forum posts)
55 comments

Calimero1987

as the bard once said:
tired of all these, for restful death i cry...

i call my new company "patent on wheels" and sue all car, bike and wheelchair-makers -.-

phoreoneone

hmmmm this sounds familiar, no?

a small and unknown company holding on to A LOT of patents until a wealthy company(ies) "infringes" them.

its sad to see all these worthless patents being signed

For Example: UK Patent Application No. GB2172200. An umbrella for wear on the head. The support frame is designed so as not to mess up the wearer's hair.

louzer

Hey! I own the patent on reply boxes! You better stop this right now! ;-)

PineappleUnderTheSea

Ah crap, now you're going to sue me.

Beesh1

Well at least it's not RIM alone but Apple too.

Michelle Haag

How can you patent a tap? I think I will patent blinking and collect royalties from the entire world. :P

siddo_d

Patent troll

Zizzzzy

Yup

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll#Mechanics

khansama

soo i have patent on patent soo i can sue all your patet patent patent
btw why is rim sued before bb10 is like the know it well be the climex ... no need to say more

shupor

Too late. I already own the patent on patent raised to power infinity. lol

Thanks for the laugh Khansama. This patent infringement business is getting ridiculous

mkye86

That's it I'm going to patent wiping one's ass from front to back! Everyone else must wipe from back to front! Or you owe me money "Period"(.)

bigbob417

Front, back, s'all the same to me, seeing as how I've got the patent on having something in your hand with which to do the wiping. Sitting on a branch with yer pants atcher ankles, done witcher bidness and grabs you a handful of leaves? GOTCHA!

Zizzzzy

Waiting for RIM to get sued for using the letters R I and M in their name. Then they can change their name to BlackBerry.. so that farmers can sue them...

Ryoohk

I hate the way people go out and buy a lot of pantents and just sit on them hoping some one will infrenge on them so they can sue....

edyb

they sue a big company and hope they get a settlement because not worth the legal costs, but in this case I hope they let these patent-diggers have it...

innovation is getting crippled because of patents, and the entire idea of patenting has been taken to an ABSURDITY that the originators of these laws could never have imagined!

Jean-luc_Picard

Tap, double-tap, and swipe. So basically having a touchscreen as a user input without using more than a double-tap for everything a user wants to do...

lynxs_claw

OMG.. you guys posts above has me in tears .. these ar the funniest comments I've heard in a long time.

dboy54

Easy there lynx. I hold the patent on laughing and I will come after you if you even think of doing it again. Oh yeah, I hold the one on tears too!!

Zizzzzy

But do you have the patent on LMFAO?

edyb

I have the patent on capitalized first-letter abbreviations so you can LOL and RTFM and TGIF all ya want as long as I get paid!

Rootbrian

He patent on using hand-eye coordination! Lol
Now people need to pay me royalties! XD

J_R_TheMotorMan

Everybody get your check books out!!!!! I own the patents for breathing, typing and thinking. I'll be issuing a cease and desist order for all of you guys. I accept Paypal

Costa84

If there are patents on smiley faces and the happy birthday song, then im sure there's one on LMFAO.

I don't see motor vehicle patents for the distance of the head lights to the road, why do these patents even exist? Don't blame the trolls, blame the governments that allow this stupidity.

Shadowsong

Blame also the plebs that elect the government

tanulku

Can I patent; holding a tablet pc with two hands...

Shadowsong

I'll hold my thoughts until more is revealed about this law suit. The more I hear about these obscure companies that seek to profit using this parasitic tactic the more ridiculous it sounds.

mssca

Anyone here have a patent for the English Alphabet? Because if not, I am going to US and file a patent right now!

stackberry369

The letters B and M..so pay up R I to thr M.lol

Cpt.GargameL

For every time you sneeze, I will collect $ so dare to sneeze. I own the patent of releasing a breeze from any holes at more than 5mph. (some farts qualify)

HUNTZODIAC

Smh this is Ridiculous and these comments are hilarious lol

Zodiac BBX (BB10)

Mastajeet

still don't get why some company haven't claimed to be the creator of the "talk to a person over a device'" patent.

seriously what the fuck is that crap. and by what the fuck i mean WHAT . THE .
wait for it

FUCK??!!??!!??!!??!!??!

edyb

I am going to file a patent on creating hilarious replies on forums! Ok pay up y'all!

3_M4N

These guys took a page out of apple's book. Remember them try to claim a patent on the swipe to unlock gesture? Their lawyers probably aren't as good as apple's though :P

houseane

If they sued me for infringing on a patent all they would get is more debt. :P

JackKennedy

I have to say...this isn't even really worth mentioning...or its own article really...

We have all seen touchscreen long before 2007.

There were touchscreens last century.

This is quite pointless really

Zutuk

Okay, so I have a serious question here for anyone who knows anything about patents. What exactly is a person allowed to patent? Where do you exactly draw the line on what can be patented? Can a shape of a phone be patented? I've heard of Apple suing Samsung because they claimed Samsung copied the shape of the Iphone. I don't know what happened as a result of that case though. It just seems silly how people can patent how smilies are implemented and now a touchscreen. Can I possibly patent what a phone can do? For example, going on the internet.

cbvinh

Apple's suit against Samsung over the iPad vs the Galaxy Tab isn't over a technology patent but over design. The original intent of the European law was to protect designers from counterfeit goods that look the same or very similar. Apple went ahead and "patented" the rectangular shape with a screen. They made their registered design as general as possible, just like patents are written to be as general as possible for maximum coverage.

stackberry369

The makers of etch a sketch should sue ALL tablet makers for stealing their innovation...rectangle with a screen.

fruitdroid

i am patenting the letter I so who ever uses the word I in their product name, or company or even software they owe me tons of money!!!! Whink, whink apple"cough" "i"pad.

Jk :D

stackberry369

For infringing on the bitten fruit?

wbortolin

I see that none of you have any idea what a patent is, so let me help. Patents protect inventions. Under Canadian law, an invention is "any new and useful art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement in any art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter". Emphasis on "new" and "useful". It also has to be something specific - not just a vague principle or theory.

I don't mean to spoil the fun of the jokes, but you can't patent the letters of the alphabet, or words, or basic geometric shapes. Things like brand names aren't patented - they're trademarked. A trademark is a totally different thing. It protects your identity in the market place, so that other companies can't impersonate you.

On an unrelated note, a lot of patents are housed in no-name shell companies, which are actually owned by a much larger company. The idea is to prevent your competitors from learning what sort of technology your developing, so that you have a headstart on them when it hits the market. I don't know if that's the case here - I actually kind of doubt it - but it's possible.

birdman_36

You must hold the patent for being a stick in the mud.

CJH315

I have the patent on anyone coming into a comedic thread and being a kill joy! You shall hear from my lawyer!!! (R). Ha to da ha (R).

Demandred7

Two things need to happen. One, the patent office needs to be a little more judicious about what it allows a patent on. And two, Judges need to start fining the plaintiffs in cases like these that waste the courts time. Anyone can see that this rash of lawsuits is reaching the point of being retarded. There should be a limited timeframe that one can protect ideas similar to prescription drugs vs generic drugs. Enough is enough. Unless a company actually produces the product that has been infringed upon, the case should be thrown out. Companies that exist only to sue others should be obliterated from the face of the earth.

wbortolin

Very good points. I'd just add that patents do indeed have a limited timeframe. They expire, usually after 20 years. It's actually the exact same thing as with prescription drugs. I'm not sure if the patents for prescription drugs expire more quickly, although the length of those patents is skewed by the fact that it takes so long to bring the drugs to market. It can easily take 10 years from patenting a drug idea to getting it approved for use.

Maybe technology patents should be shorter, though. 20 years is an eternity in the computer business.

Demandred7

Exactly wbortolin, exactly what I was trying to convey. Tech is much faster pace than drugs. As an example, BlackBerries didn't exist more than 13 years ago. Can you imagine a time before your BlackBerry - seems like ancient history.

blackguy07

Since everyone wants to break out their patents I guess I should break mine out too.......BREATHING! Yep so you got two options.......death or payin me my moniessss B-)

xusander

You can't sue my ass cause I've got a patent on ass.

stackberry369

Blinking eating and living!!!

birdman_36

I hold the patent on boobies! First dibs!!

Blackberry_boffin

I think I will patent "suing for patent infringement"

lang007

Love all the comments keep them coming it is making my day. Funny as hell. Unless someone has a patent on that

AcADIeN

patent kill technology, well maybe not 100 % but very close.

Joe257

I just patented the phrase "patent infringement" so I can sue these losers that seek to stiffle technology yet create absolutely nothing themselves! Heck, I'll even sue the courts and lawyers for allowing folks to file such bogus cases!!

C'mon, the courts should be setting a better example. Judges should punish lawyers for wasting the court's time on frivolous law suits.

Anyone heard about Weird Al's "I'll Sue Ya"? It's hilarious!