Microsoft pulled a ‘Scumbag Steve’ move and has attempted to patent Apple’s “Pinch and Zoom” technology as its own. According to a patent application by Microsoft that was released by the United States Patent Office earlier this week, Microsoft is trying to patent its own version of Pinch and Zoom that looks identical to Apple’s Pinch and Zoom patent. We’ve embedded a copy of the patent diagram below for your viewing pleasure.
From the patent filing:
As evident, the mobile device is displaying the entirety of the chart which was present on page one, but not the entirety of the first page. In order to provide context for the user as to where they are within the content, the user can indicate a “pinching” motion for zooming out of the content.
—
The user can also indicate a pinching motion to zoom-out at this point when the display associated with FIG. 2B is shown.
Why would Microsoft do something so stupid? The company, along with Google, is hoping that Apple has its famous Pinch to Zoom patent invalidated, though that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon due to endless appeals. Patently Apple noted that Microsoft may have filed this patent as a “just-in-case” motion.
