Are These Two Companies Trying to Claim Apple’s Patent?

In 2010, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) patented an application programming interface for scrolling operations that included a function popularly known as “Pinch and Zoom.” Now it appears Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Samsung (005930.KS) are taking steps to establish patent claims on the same technology.

As reported by Patently Apple, both companies have recently filed patent claims for similar “Pinch and Zoom” concepts. Patently Apple speculates that this may be a “‘just-in-case’ maneuver‘ on the part of Microsoft’s legal team should Apple’s appeal fail.”

Samsung’s reasoning, on the other hand, seems to be blatantly hypocritical or extremely forgetful. As reported by the International Business Times just a few weeks ago, Richard Cobden, Samsung’s legal counsel in Australia, identified in court “features such as pinch-to-zoom and slide-to-lock as design principles that he insisted are not grounds for a patent and claim exclusivity.”

In 2012, the US Patent Office issued a “first office actions” notice to Apple that informed the Cupertino-based company that its patent was the subject of a patent reexamination due to a complaint by an unknown client. The patent reexamination action led to premature declarations by several news outlets last December that Apple’s “Pinch and Zoom” patent was invalidated.