However, there’s still the issue of whether the broad claims of these patents would hold up if/when tested in court. And the issue of whether Apple will end up having to cross-license its phone-related IP with big players like Microsoft and Nokia.

For me, some of the biggest problems for Apple, with some of the key claims in these patents, are those of prior art. For example, the following seems a good overview:

http://www.billbuxton.com/multitouchOverview.html

I’m sure Microsoft’s, Nokia’s and other’s IP lawyers have been looking closely at Apple’s patents in this area, and are already working out how they want to proceed.

I find it pretty hard to believe that Apple would think that the smart thing to do would be to here would be to enter into litigation with these companies. It’s one thing for Apple to protect its IP by writing theatening letters to small companies and individuals. It’s quite another to start long legal battles with deep-pocketed opponents.

Of course, the above pre-supposes that companies like Microsoft and Nokia are smart enough to realise that multitouch, gesture-based UIs are important. There’s always the possibility that they don’t get this stuff - and will just let Apple get on with it. That wouldn’t be a surprise. For some reason, cluelessness abounds in most companies when it comes to design of interfaces for interacting with devices. No idea why people find this subject to difficult, but they clearly do.

And actually, I think this is where Apple’s real competitive advantage comes from. Even if there weren’t any patents protecting iPhone, you have to question whether the likes of Microsoft/HTC and Nokia have the capability to design devices that work as well as Apple devices do. Every single piece of evidence - i.e. looking at phones on the market - suggests that no-one is even close to where Apple is on the “interaction” front. For example, I’ve seen the LG Prada phone in action, which many have compared to iPhone, and the way the user interface appeared to work was just embarrassingly awful.

http://www.unwiredview.com/2007/01/16/apples-iphone-is-it-really-well-protected-by-patents/

I don’t think their broad claims to multitouch could possibly stand up to much examination either. There’s just going to be much prior art; and obviousness.

The threat of a lawsuit from Apple will scare off small companies, so from that point of view it will work. However, I just can’t see the likes of Nokia, Samsung, or Microsoft taking much notice legal threats from Apple; especially if they think that Apple’s intellectual property is weak. And in any case, large companies will simply cross-license their IP, because 1) they all infringe each others patents (cos there are so many dumb patents granted); and 2) they all know they all have deep pockets, so any lawsuit would drag on for many years, which would be pointless.

So, I expect that we’ll be seeing multitouch interfaces in lots of devices, in one form or another…