Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio, and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space. But Palm, which hired Apple's former head of hardware engineering, Jon Rubenstein, and other former Apple engineers to develop the Pre, felt it necessary to respond to Cook's statements: That could be easily interpreted as a threat to Palm, though Cook made it clear he wasn't singling out any company in particular. I don't know that I can be clearer than that. However, we will not stand for having our IP ripped off, and we'll use whatever weapons that we have at our disposal. And we are ready to suit up and go against anyone. I'm just making a general statement that we think competition is good. I don't want to talk about any specific company. When asked pointedly about the Pre's touch interface similarities to the iPhone, Cook responded: Advertisement Recent entries include RIM's BlackBerry Storm, the HTC/Google/T-mobile G1, and Palm's announced but as-yet unreleased Pre.
Since the original iPhone launched in June 2007, competitors have scrambled to emulate its success by releasing touch-based mobile devices. Westerman, who became an Apple engineer when Apple acquired his FingerWorks, Inc in 2005, is responsible for a lot of the multitouch gesturing and on-screen keyboard technology used in the iPhone. The patent lists Steve Jobs, Scott Forstall, and a number of other Apple engineers, including Wayne Westerman. In addition, it also details the combination of components that the iPhone represents, including Bluetooth, WiFi, cell, and GPS radios, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and touch-sensitive screen. The abstract describes a "computing device, comprising: a touch screen display one or more processors memory and one or more programs" and specifically mentions a variety of methods and heuristics for interpreting the touch input and translating it to commands for scrolling, flipping from page to page in the SpringBoard, zooming webpages, and other commands. The patent, titled "Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics," was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office last week and assigned patent number 7,479,949. When COO Tim Cook told analysts last week that Apple would "not stand for having our IP ripped off," he was likely referring to the company's all-encompassing iPhone patent.
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