Apple’s Latest Patent Victory: In-Call Multitasking

Do not take this as me defending Apple (I certainly don’t want to). This is only a statement about technical capability and not supposed to endorse or support Apple with this in any way.

The very first iPhone had multitasking during calls (and multitasking in general). The first Android phone came out after the first iPhone so your statement can’t be correct.

Again, this is in no way an endorsement of Apple’s behavior.

Terretta2• 15 years ago

> this is in no way an endorsement of Apple’s behavior

As if Apple invented the Kodak/Nokia/Motorola/Qualcomm portfolio licensing pricing game.

(Though at least these companies invent and sell things, a point Joe Wilcox forgets when he lobs accusations of patent trolling at them.)

purephase• 15 years ago

Actually, my Blackberry did this 8-9 years ago.

viraptor• 15 years ago

Unfortunately they limit the patent to touchscreen devices. Otherwise, I'd say that my sl45i did that almost 11 years ago.

praptak• 15 years ago

Is multitasking during video shooting covered by a separate patent? How about multitasking while heating food, for devices that do heat food?

nudded• 15 years ago

What does this have to do with multitasking on a touchscreen device during a phone call?

jaspersfather• 15 years ago

The idea of patenting it has roughly the same amount of hilarity.

hahainternet2• 15 years ago

He's mocking the triviality of the patent. Patents are supposed to protect an innovative new process or technology. Putting a button on a screen to activate a previously existing technology is just spending money to try and cripple competitors who accidentally infringe.

peterb• 15 years ago

It is not a victory until it has been tested in court.

monochromatic• 15 years ago

That claim is really hard to read without line breaks and indentation. [Here's a link to the patent itself](http://www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat8082523.pdf), and the claims are on the last couple of pages.

darkane• 15 years ago

How could this possibly be patentable? We've been able to make calls and multitask from laptops for over 20 years. You can't claim it as inventive just because the laptop can now fit in your hand. In the patent world, this is the very definition of obviousness.

markokocic3• 15 years ago

Why nobody opposed this? I see comments that this "invention" is obvious, yet nobody opposed it when Apple applied for it.

Isn't it more effective to prevent Apple from getting this patent in the first place than to wait for it to sue somebody over this patent and then battle it at court?

philf• 15 years ago

You can't oppose a patent application unless you work in the patent office.

markokocic3• 15 years ago

Yes you can[1], and you should if that patent affects your business.

The whole point of public patent application is that the competitors have time to oppose it if there's no reason for that patent to be granted.

And that's what a lot of non-tech companies are already doing.

[1]http://www.fishiplaw.com/faqs/cat/opposing-patents/36/

kalleboo• 15 years ago

Lots of phones did this before (for instance Sony Ericsson's dumbphone line would multitask J2ME apps, even during calls).

What makes this patent valid is they took what existed before, stuck a "BUT THIS TIME ON TOUCHSCREEN PHONES" at the end, and boom we have a new patent. I don't understand how patents like these this count as novel and valid.

edit: thinking more about this (but without checking the original patent) this must cover the "call in progress" bar at the top of the screen. I guess that could be seen as a valid innovation, even though IMHO it's a bit too trivial.

maxxxxx• 15 years ago

I think this may be a good accelerator for real patent reform. Once the economy has come to a standstill because companies are suing each other left and right for silly patents people will see how ridiculous the system is. Unfortunately this will probably still take a while and be very painful.

Apple’s Latest Patent Victory: In-Call Multitasking

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