1-Click, Short-Click, Long-Click, More-Clicks - All Patented
from the click-to-pay dept
theodp writes "Not to be outdone by Amazon's 1-Click patent, Microsoft snagged a patent from the USPTO Tuesday for a Time based hardware button for application launch, which covers causing different actions to occur depending upon whether a button is pressed for a short period of time, a long period of time, or multiple times within a short period of time. So does pressing car radio buttons for different periods of time to change or set stations constitute patent infringement?" What about double-clicking? Seems like a fair amount of prior art. I know my caller ID box requires a "double-click" to delete phone numbers. Also, I may not remember correctly, but I was under the impression that Apple's famous "one-button" mouse allows you to fake a right mouse click if you hold down the button.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Subject Given
MORSE CODE!!!!!!!!
I think I win this competition!
Faz
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
PS 2???
(Not as good as the Morse code example but implemented by a competitor in the Video Games arena)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: PS 2???
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: PS 2???
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: PS 2???
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
trolling
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
prior art: Nextstep
timed actions. A short click on a directory would display the contents, a long press would update the
directory. A double click would open it in a new window.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Timing the button click
Gates...get a life and just make your products work right from the get-go. Enough is enough!!!
David Boarman
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Patent on Pressing a Button, Prior Art
That must be a very good case of prior art since it's been around since the inception of ATX PSU's.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Patent on Pressing a Button, Prior Art
The calculator example above looks good though.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Already exists!
Enjoy :)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
One-Button Mouse
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
surf win prize
[ link to this | view in chronology ]