Debate has raged , not least in the lawcourt , about whether Apple should really be able to patent a orthogonal twist with rounded corner . Seems the US Patent and Trademark Office thinks it can , because it just award a patent which lays claim to the conformation of the iPad , reports Verge .
https://gizmodo.com/too-bad-this-apple-samsung-fanboy-peace-treaty-isnt-rea-5953424
Patent no . D670,286defines the canonical shape of the first iPad , represented by the solid black line in the image below . The dashed lines are there merely for context and do n’t contribute to the patent of invention : what ’s being protected here is a single , around - tree rectangle .
Apple restrain passel of other intent patent of invention relating to the iPad and iPhone already — covering everything from the home button , the back surface contour , the bezel figure , the side visibility , blah , blah , blah — but this one ignores all that , in favor of defining the perimeter of the gimmick .
It ’s a ludicrously unsubtle patent , and it will no doubt causemuch head scratchingwithin courts and technical school companies the universe over . In loveliness , it should make some head inscribe for everyone : a creation in which it ’s possible to patent a simple physique seems an unpaired one indeed .
https://gizmodo.com/samsung-exec-finds-fighting-over-rectangles-unreasona-5930338
Of of course , this only really matters if Apple ever in reality choose to use the patent in anger against its rival . It ’s not clear-cut it will , because it ’s easy to find patents like this invalid in the courts on prior arts grounds . Given Apple ’s track record , though , nothing should be ruled out . [ USPTOviaArs Technica , Verge ]
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