<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt">Hi Mateusz, <br><br>- they are not patenting the touchscreen as a new patentable innovation, they are patenting the adaptation of a single existing operation to the new technology. <br><br>Perhaps a better analogy would be patenting the use of the word "start" under voice controlled devices to turn on.<br><br>Yes - OSGeo :-) But not a protest about the application, but a reasoned contesting of the application with prior art & legally relevant reasons for why the patent application is invalid. I'm not that familiar with US patent law, but have the general impression that he who has the best lawyers wins, & he who has the most $$ has the best lawyers.<br><br>A great pity Groklaw is no more.<br><br><br>Seasons greetings to all!<br><br>Brent Wood<br><div><span><br></span></div><div><br></div> <div style="font-family: times
new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <hr size="1"> <font face="Arial" size="2"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold;">From:</span></b> Mateusz Loskot <mateusz@loskot.net><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> Brent Wood <pcreso@pcreso.com> <br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cc:</span></b> "discuss@lists.osgeo.org" <discuss@lists.osgeo.org> <br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Sunday, December 22, 2013 10:26 AM<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] About "Interactive Map" patent application by Apple Inc.<br> </font> </div> <div class="y_msg_container"><br>On 21 December 2013 21:15, Brent Wood <<a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:pcreso@pcreso.com" href="mailto:pcreso@pcreso.com">pcreso@pcreso.com</a>> wrote:<br clear="none">><br
clear="none">> Click on two points to display a route, touch two points to display a route<br clear="none">> - this is natural progression from mouse based hardware to touch screen<br clear="none">> mode. There should not be any patent there, it is just a generic change in<br clear="none">> pointing device.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">User can type a word to 'feed' computer with input,<br clear="none">user can speak... - this is natural progression from<br clear="none">keyboard to voice operation of a HID.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">IANAL, and I'm very far from being supportive to the patent in subject,<br clear="none">but I sense such reasoning would be easy to reject at court.<div class="yqt7129991257" id="yqtfd90244"><br clear="none"><br clear="none">><br clear="none">> Shock, horror - could OSGEO join with ESRI to contest this?</div><br clear="none"><br clear="none">You mean, OSGeo. Perhaps, a letter with formal protest
is technically possible.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Best regards,<br clear="none">-- <br clear="none">Mateusz Łoskot, <a shape="rect" href="http://mateusz.loskot.net/" target="_blank">http://mateusz.loskot.net</a><br><br></div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>