The ball is now in Apple’s court to prove that this functionality wasn’t already present in other products before the patent was granted. Good luck with that, Apple.
I just hope that this is a sign of things to come – perhaps a bit more rationale in the US patent office. Maybe it will start looking at other bogus patents, such as one-click shopping (I’m looking at you, Amazon) and rounded edges (Apple … sigh). These patent lawsuits have only worked to stifle innovation, in spite of the fact that the original purpose of the patent was to promote innovation. It will be interesting to see what, if anything else, comes out of this.
[Engadget] Thanks, Adam!