Apple has been awarded a patent for its iPhone interface, giving it another way to protect its intellectual property.  

Apple originally filed a request for the patent in 2007, focusing on its multitouch interface. The smartphone market has grown significantly since then with recent research from Parks Associates predicting that the number of global smartphone users will reach over 2 billion people by 2015.

?Apple?s newly obtained patent will offer the company another means to protect its intellectual property,? said Jason Koslofsky, an attorney with ArentFox LLP, Washington, DC. ?It?s unclear whether Apple will aggressively enforce the patent or if Apple?s rivals will seek to invalidate it.

?One thing is clear, the smartphone world has changed dramatically since 2007 when Apple applied for the patent. Many now offer touchscreen capabilities, which might be covered by the patent.?

Mr. Koslofsky was referring to the number of patent infringement lawsuits that have occurred in the mobile space.

Patents are key
Companies like Apple, Samsung and Lodsys continue to protect their patents and trademarks against lawsuits, which was reflected in several pieces of news this week. Several of these suits reflect the role that patents have in the technology-focused mobile space and the impact they can have on which companies will flourish. 

Apple, whose iPhone and iPad helped create the markets for smartphones and tablets, is a party to several of these.

Also this week, Lodsys has been granted a two-month extension to consider Apple?s request to intervene in the patent infringement lawsuit against seven app developers, possibly signaling the two companies are working behind the scenes to come to an agreement.

This means Lodsys, which brought the suit against the app developers, will not have to respond by the original date of June 27.

?It wouldn?t surprise me if their lawyers are talking outside of the suit and Lodsys is seeking more time to allow behind the scenes talks to develop further,? Mr. Kosloksky said. 

A two month extension is on the longer side for these types of requests, he said.

The best outcome for both companies of such behind-the-scene discussions, if they are happening, would be a new licensing agreement that broadens Apple?s existing one with Lodsys and resolves the claims.

?The companies could be looking for some kind of further licensing agreement to put the Lodsys patent claims to bed in order to allow app store developers to continue to make new products that rely on that technology,? Mr. Koslofsky said.

In other legal news, a judge is not letting Samsung see Apple?s next-generation of mobile devices in an ongoing case between the two companies.

In April, Apple sued Samsung for copying the look and feel of the iPad and iPhone in its Galaxy tablet and smartphone products.
Samsung then accused Apple of patent infringement over cellphone transmission technologies.

In the most recent development in this case, the judge in the case has denied Samsung?s request to see Apple?s not-yet-released next generation iPhone and iPad. The judge said that Samsung did not show good cause for why it should see Apple?s future products.

Samsung requested to see Apple?s next-generation products after the court ordered Samsung to show Apple prototypes of new devices that have already been announced.

?It looks like the court believed that Samsung was attempting to get discovery material that wasn?t necessary to the immediate issues in the case,? Mr. Koslofsky said.

?Parties to a lawsuit always want as much discovery as they can get,? he said. ?I image that Samsung can probably still defend the case without necessarily obtaining this information.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode, Assoc. Editor, Mobile Marketer