Apple’s so-called rubber banding patent, which describes the way that a screen bounces back into place when a user has scrolled to the edges of it, has had a Final Office Action published by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office).
An initial ruling or First Office Action on the patent, which was used against Samsung in a jury trial last year, was issued by the USPTO in October last year. Now, CNET reports, the patent and trademark authority has issued the FOI as part of its re-examination of the patent’s claims.
The Final Office Action basically means that Apple has failed to address concerns about the patent’s claims, though even this decision for the patent cannot be considered final. Apple may still appeal the Action, which they very likely will. Failure to appeal will have implications for several devices that were involved in the Apple-Samsung legal battle last year, including the Galaxy Tab and the Galaxy S II. An invalidation here will probably see the monetary award that Samsung is due to pay Cupertino further slashed.
Apple’s ‘Steve Jobs’ patent is also on the block at the USPTO and is undergoing examination following a provisional invalidation late last year.
Source: CNET