Apple granted design patent for original iPhone, iPod touch
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 13th 2010 12:58PM
posted April 13th 2010 12:58PM
Apple may have enough patents and patent applications to wallpaper its entire Cupertino campus, but we're guessing this is one it's been especially eager to get: a design patent for the original iPhone and iPod touch. That, of course, covers the "ornamental design" of the devices and not their functionality, which means that any other devices that look a little too similar are now treading on even more dangerous territory than before. As with other Apple patents, you'll find Jonathan P. Ives and Steve (no "P") Jobs listed among the fourteen inventors, and you'll also find plenty of references to earlier patents and other relevant devices -- including a pointer to none other than one of our posts on the infamous Meizu M8.
[Thanks, Fabian]
[Thanks, Fabian]
So don't make a device that's 99.99% screen and one button. Shouldn't be too hard to avoid that.
@Biopsidy
But i think this one covers nexus one too well?
@who said what
Dunno, the Nexus One's button is a trackball and there are 4 menu keys right above it that are I believe are screen keys and not touchscreen icons so that technically counts as 4 more buttons.
@who said what
Hardly, the Nexus One has 4 menu buttons and a removable battery cover
@Biopsidy
How long does it take to get a design patent?? That's mad.
Anyway, there is no way to make an all touch screen phone and have it not look like the iPhone. Many PDA's have had this form factor. Not mentioning the LG Prada which was made before the iPhone. The idea of a touchscreen phone is not new. Even I remember posting back in 2005 in slashdot that phones would have to move towards larger touchscreens .. and others had been saying it long before.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=163341&cid=13644457
@Biopsidy
I WISH it was 99%. That'd be nice. 3 years ago.
Hello Evo!
@Biopsidy - Samsung you are next, after Apple sues HTC for slide to unlock, and Samsung for iPhone look alike. Apple is paving it's road to domination by suing them off the market. Sad day for America and non apple fans.
@sasuke
You're delusional :).
@Biopsidy Also - no chrome.
@Biopsidy
I don't feel positively about this. How far exactly does this patent go? And I'm going to have to use this trite argument: how differently can you make a rectangular touchscreen phone look? This can potentially give them way too much room to be aggressors. I completely agree that someone's design should be respected - I do consider ID to be an art - but this...this is just potentially really, really problematic.
You've been a bad, bad patent office. No honeybun for you.
@Biopsidy yes the nexus one has a AMOLED screen (bigger than iPhone), a removeable battery and SD card, a trackball....Do you need me to keep going. Nothing like Apple's underwhelming piece of hardware .
@derX
Just because the patent was granted doesn't make it enforceable. The overall design of the iPhone has been around for many years. Basically it looks like a tablet computer but smaller.
Of course if a company purposefully duplicates the exact look of the iPhone then Apple has a case, but just making a rectangular touchscreen phone will not violate any patents.
The U.S Patent office continues to prove what a joke it is.
LG can claim "prior art" with the Prada touchscreen phone.
@commenter7 I think the battery cover makes the BIG different!
@Biopsidy
Does Apple has an insider in the Patent and copyright office? It begis to look like they are granted really dumb patents these days.
iPhone's design form factor isn't the first, it isn't even the 3rd! That people giving them the design patent had better looked into other phones.
@Biopsidy
Come again? If the iPhone was 99.99% screen, it would be more of an HD2 with 1 button. Don't you see the huge black bars all around?
@MegaJapan
1 button and shrank specs. Very shrank specs.
@commenter7
I'm thinking the other way:
Apple should soon file the patent for non-removable battery design on smartphones.
@Ipadkiller
Sure. Patents aren't actually to encourage the disclosure of useful things that would otherwise remain trade secrets. They're meant to be a means for corporations to mess with each other and create anti-competitive barriers.
We understand alright. Understanding the current nature of the beast doesn't necessarily mean you approve of it.
@sweet greggo
Shit man, what do you want them to do... they finally get a patent on a 3 year old device and you STILL want to rip it off? Do you have an ounce of dignity? If you do you can't deny that
-the iPhone was full of great ideas and innovative technologies
-other companies had either copy or innovate around Apple's designs
-the companies that copy should either get permission from Apple or be penalized for stealing the result of Apple's hard work (about 3 years and Lord knows how much money in R&D).
@Wesscoast
1 button and a screen isn't very innovating making a phone with a screen and a button isn't really copying
@Wesscoast Hey what are you doing?? Don't you know people just need to bitch about Apple no matter what. When did last time anybody tried to understand why iPhone is a huge success? When there were other touch screen phones in market why iPhone took over ? Regardless what so big deal about one button rectangular touch screen phone. The big deal is it's success. Let the haters bitch. They feel good.
I'm first and you know it.
@adriannn
Ok second but what you gonna do?
@DIESEL
They just called their lawyers... >.>
@DIESEL
That's because Apple is taking over the world (Google's in on it too)
@DIESEL
http://www.engadget.com/exclude/apple/
@DIESEL
They don't need to be reminded of their quota responsibilities by the likes of you, pal.
Meizu......uh oh!
Just now... lmfao
Well.
Wateva
BOOM! There goes Meizu
HTC Legend too?
I mean, an aluminum body with a plastic bottom where the antennae lies (to minimize shielding). What else? Rounded corners? How the Hell could they have possibly gotten that patent?
Keepin' it real f.. oh wait.
Our patent system has failed us again, giving companies this.
@Kwame Nkrumah
explain why you think that?
@Kwame Nkrumah
they are going to abuse thee FUCK out of this. I predict they're guna sue any mild look alike they can. while it'll be good for getting rid of keepin it real fake phones, i don't doubt they'll take a stab at real competitors.
Seriously though they deserved this.
plus microsoft is busy making the Kin, HTC is busy making the EVO, and nobody else has the technology to even really make a problem out of it.
So for the moment, who cares?
I'm pretty sure we'll soon see Apple trying to patent using your hands on a touch screen device/phone.
@KidRobotXXIV
This article relates to a design patent, not a utility patent.
Learn the law before making ignorant comments.
@DigDug I know the difference, home slice. I was going for a sarcastic, comedic approach. Gee whiz!
it looks like a Zii
@DariaMorgendorffer
Correction: The Creative Zii looks like 'IT'.
Since it seems the USPTO is being so giving these days I have just filed a patent for using a mixture of nitrogen/oxygen and other inert and noble gases to sustain life. The process in which this occurs is by the inhalation of the gases into an expanding organ which then transfers the required amount of these gases to the bloodstream in order to maintain an optimum supply throughout. The excess and used gases are then expended through an orifice in order for the procedure to be repeated.
Ya think I will get it? Stay tuned!
@Darkseider
Well, then you filed for a utility patent, not a design patent - the subject of this Engadget article, so your point/comment is entirely moot.
This reminds me of the time we had to team up with Jaws to defeat Bigger Jaws…
@MattsZ
Lmao...good stuff.
That's the reason I never bought a crApple phone and never will. I never cared about the round corner too, except for one button design. Does that mean some car company can patent 4-wheels now? This is so stupid. HTC should patent everything curved chin, sharp edge designs, and everything without 3.5" screen display. License them free to every other company but crApple! ^%$& Apple the snake fruit!
Don't Be EVIL........translation in Latin is Don't Be Apple!
Patents are such a joke, what a flawed system
Thats kinda ridiculous. Its like patenting a brick. Not a big an of one button design, but I wonder whether Google can patent the "brick with 3 buttons" design and someone else the "brick with 4 button"