One of the Apple patents that played a big role in the company's courtroom victory over Samsung in late August was claim 19 of the 7,469,381 patent, which covers the "rubber band" or "overscroll bounce" effect found on iOS devices. Some potentially bad news for Apple related to that patent has surfaced today, though, as FOSS Patents has found that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has "tentatively" invalidated the patent. The USPTO points to two pieces of prior art that may make claim 19 of the patent invalid, and the patent is now subject to reexamination.
In the verdict of the aforementioned Apple-Samsung trial, all 21 Samsung devices involved were found to have violated claim 19 of the claim 19 of the 7,469,381 patent. FOSS Patents notes that Judge Lucy Koh could overrule the related portion of the jury's verdict based on the USPTO's decision, though it's worth mentioning that the patent is still subject to reexamination and that the invalidation is not yet final. Also, any decision on the matter could be overturned by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. Even if Samsung has already implemented a workaround for this patent, this news likely got it excited, and the company has already alerted Judge Koh to the decision in a filing. Neither Apple nor Samsung has officially commented on this matter yet. Until we hear more on the matter, you can find the USPTO's document on the matter at the Scribd link below.
Via FOSS Patents, Scribd
