
Patent office strikes blow against “Steve Jobs patent” - caffeinewriter
http://gigaom.com/2012/12/07/patent-office-strikes-blow-against-steve-jobs-patent-for-smart-phone-swipes/
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weiran
Almost every tech news site has interpreted this incorrectly, mainly because
of a lack of understand of the patent process. The Verge is one of the few to
provide a balanced and well researched article on this:
[http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/24/3549214/the-real-story-
be...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/24/3549214/the-real-story-behind-the-
validity-of-apple-bounce-back-patent-rejection)

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belorn
The linked article you gave has some good and valid information, but it also
include new problems. One is the use of the PTO's statistics to show that (as
it say in large red letters), "Most reexamined patents come out with valid
claims".

The problem is, that those numbers are average out from 1981 to 2012. During
that time, there been several patent reforms, changes in patent scope,
software patents, supreme court cases, and a radical change in the market of
patents. The 11% all claims canceled is a number, but the number doesn't mean
much. Ad to that, the nature of this patent (software) and I have seen any
number from 11% to 95% to the statistical chance of an software patent having
all claims being invalid.

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purecaffeine
Good, one less ridiculous obstacle for us poor designers who literally now
have to refer to a bible of Don't's when designing every part of a screen and
interaction.

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greyfade
This was only a _preliminary_ office action. Apple can still appeal and modify
the claims of the patent to make it more acceptable. There is a chance that
the patent will survive, potentially with stronger claims that Apple can use
against others.

It won't be over for at least several months.

