PTO Says Apple’s Pinch-to-Zoom Patent Is Invalid

The US Patent and Trademark Office, which has been re-examining Apple’s pinch-to-zoom patent (US No 7,844,915) presumably at Samsung’s behest, said Wednesday that all 21of its claims are invalid on the basis of prior art, specifically for anticipation and obviousness. It’s a preliminary decision. As the Wall Street Journal says, the patent – well, at least claim 8 – was a cornerstone of Apple’s infringement case against Samsung, which filed the PTO’s decision with the federal court in San Jose, California that heard Apple’s infringement case this summer. Apple, which has called the patent the commercially most valuable of the three multitouch software patents-in-suit, is expected to appeal.

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