US invalidates Apple display patent

The US Patent and Trademark Office has invalidated a patent successfully used by Apple in a court fight against Samsung this year. A California jury found in August devices sold by Samsung Electronics Co. infringed on the main claim of Apple's so-called pinch-to-zoom patent. However, following a re-examination, the USPTO invalidated all 20 claims of U.S. patent number 7,844,915, CNET reported Wednesday. The patent concerns technology that can discern whether a user is scrolling content on a display with one finger or is using several points of contact to create a "pinch-to-zoom" action. Claims from other patents, including one from the United States and one from Japan, preceded Apple's, thus making Apple's invalid, the USPTO said. In a filing with U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh, who presided over the California trial, Samsung said the patent office's decision is "relevant" to its effort to win a retrial in the matter.