The United States Patent and Trademark Office has flat out denied Apple the trademark for multi-touch technology. Apple detailed its revolutionary multi-touch display to the world with the original iPhone back in 2007. Apple’s trademark request was also filed at that time.
Apple wanted to trademark Multi-Touch. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has finally ruled that Multi-Touch has a too much of a generic meaning now, not to mention the fact that nearly every smartphone and tablet on the market uses the technology.
MacRumors reports:
“For trademarks, “the greater the degree of descriptiveness the term has, the heavier the burden to prove it has attained secondary meaning.” The trademark attorney pointed out that the term “multitouch” has taken on generic meaning, being used by a wide variety of publications to describe the touchscreen technology on Android phones, tablets, and notebooks.”
You can read the court’s full decision on the issue here.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
