Apple Finally Gets Patent On OS X Dock

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Well that only took the best part of a decade to accomplish! Apple’s patent on the OS X dock has finally been approved by the United States Patent Office. Thanks to MacMan for the linkage!

Methods and systems for providing graphical user interfaces are described. To provide greater access and consolidation to frequently used items in the graphical user interface, a userbar is established which includes a plurality of item representations. To permit a greater number of items to reside in the userbar, a magnification function can be provided which magnifies items within the userbar when they are proximate the cursor associated with the graphical user interface.
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Hm, so what does this mean for Stardock's Object Dock? Not going to pretend I'm a legal genius, or a genius of any kind. :)
 
If I'm one of those companies who own a product with a "dock", I would be very worried, in fact, I'd call in my legal team for assurance.

$10 says apple is going to launch a barrage of lawsuits.
 
Since Apple claims that it doesn't compete with the PC market (their defense against Psystar calling them a monopoly), wouldn't they be contradicting themselves by suing people who create dock-like products for Windows/Linux?
 
DeathFromBelow said:
Since Apple claims that it doesn't compete with the PC market (their defense against Psystar calling them a monopoly), wouldn't they be contradicting themselves by suing people who create dock-like products for Windows/Linux?
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It didn't stop them from suing school using a fruit as a logo of their institution. Nor did it stop them from suing a city using an fruit logo.

You don't have to compete to apple to be sued.
 
Looks like another Big Company trying to stifle competition. Many software patents of obvious or evolutionary ideas are not good for start-up companies or competition in the market place. In short, the consumer loses.
 
My dell XPS laptop even came with a dock, I really hope this doesn't stop support for things like rocket dock, or Object dock which I use and love for my desktop at home
 
Are patent infringement lawsuits even retroactive? Those other dock imitation software made them under the information that there are no patent for it at the time. They did nothing wrong. Perhaps the patent would prohibit them from making new ones in the future?
 
isn't the dock pretty much the same darn thing as the windows task manager??
Task manager hides if you want it to and has icons that allow you to lauch stuff quickly and get back to windows that you have up.
 
Bigbacon said:
isn't the dock pretty much the same darn thing as the windows task manager??
Task manager hides if you want it to and has icons that allow you to lauch stuff quickly and get back to windows that you have up.
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It's the look more than anything IMO.
 
Software Patents are just a way for companies with large portfolios of patents and Patent Trolls, to kick the little guy in the teeth, for trying to compete.:D
 
Bigbacon said:
isn't the dock pretty much the same darn thing as the windows task manager??
Task manager hides if you want it to and has icons that allow you to lauch stuff quickly and get back to windows that you have up.
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You're referring to Taskbar but yeah. Quick Launch is about the closest thing Windows has to a native 'dock' style toolbar. I wonder about the dock on the side of the desktop for Vista though.
 
Surely the concept of fitting more things in by making them smaller comes under "bloody obvious" and is therefore unpatentable?
 
Don't worry, they'll go after the children, open source and not for profits first for the shock value.

Did I say shock value? I meant because they're assholes.
 
MrMike said:
Don't worry, they'll go after the children, open source and not for profits first for the shock value.

Did I say shock value? I meant because they're assholes.
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I kind of wish they would. Open source needs to take the lead more often instead of following everyone else. They haven't had a truly revolutionary item for years now.
 
Wasn't microsoft working on some kind of dock like thing for windows 7? Could that have anything to do with this?
 
bladeiai said:
Wasn't microsoft working on some kind of dock like thing for windows 7? Could that have anything to do with this?
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No, Apple applied for the patent long time ago. It was the patent office that took a long time to patent the dock, not Apple.
 
Docks are neat and all, but I don't use em. The resources they use, even if miniscule, could be diverted elsewhere. I'm happy with super large Vista icons, or no icons and navigating completely through the Star menu.

FOwallpaper.jpg
 
Heck. I seem to remember something similar as a downloadable program for the Amiga eons ago. It may not have looked or acted in an animated way but same concept then too.

(Showing my age with an Amiga comment....)
 
noc_81 said:
Oh, so does that mean I'm free to patent the wheel, then..?
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Straw man argument. The patent is specific to a graphical userbar with a magnification function when the cursor is in proximity to an icon. Object Dock does this.

You're free however to patent a specific type of wheel. Perhaps one that uses ribs instead of air for support... :)
 
SPARTAN VI said:
Straw man argument. The patent is specific to a graphical userbar with a magnification function when the cursor is in proximity to an icon. Object Dock does this.

You're free however to patent a specific type of wheel. Perhaps one that uses ribs instead of air for support... :)
Click to expand...

A guy did patent the wheel actually, he was just doing so to show the flaws in our patent system.
 
Remember that awesome dock MS shipped with Office, um, 4 years before Apple filed this patent?
 
QHalo said:
Office shortcut bar can die in a fire!!!!
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Yeah, it was horrible, but you could dock arbitrary programs to it. I remember setting up several common programs I used as a launcher.
 
Ockie said:
It didn't stop them from suing school using a fruit as a logo of their institution. Nor did it stop them from suing a city using an fruit logo.

You don't have to compete to apple to be sued.
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A bit of a difference when you are talking Trademarks and Patents...you'd be wise not to confuse the 2.

I don't think this will have any large effects on the companies with similar docks...they might have to change a tiny this or a tiny that but nothing major.
 
I have no idea why Apple would ever think anyone is trying to rip them off.

desktop2.jpg
 
It's a fucking dock, for crying out loud. I'm sure Apple wouldn't mind, except for when it comes to the docks you have to pay for. But then again, the version of Object Dock that costs money has features that the OSX dock has never seen and probably won't see...

...that is until Apple wins the upcoming lawsuit(s).:D
 
CopyCat said:
A bit of a difference when you are talking Trademarks and Patents...you'd be wise not to confuse the 2.

I don't think this will have any large effects on the companies with similar docks...they might have to change a tiny this or a tiny that but nothing major.
Click to expand...

I wasn't talking about patents and trademarks, I was simply stating that apple is sue happy, they would even sue a school and a city because they have pictures of fruits as logos... so apple suing for a patent such as this would come to me as no surprise.
 
One word: LOL

God, give me a break, good luck enforcing that with all of the copycats out there that have been doing similarly for years.
 
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