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Apple finally gets patent on Mac OS X Dock
Since the release of Mac OS X 10.0 in 2001, the Dock has been one of the most prominent features of operating system's user interface, serving as a centralized launch pad for applications and document files. Now, nearly a decade after filing for a patent on the OS X Dock, it has finally been awarded to Apple under the title “user interface for providing consolidation and access.”
Apple now has the exclusive right to prevent others from making, using, selling, or otherwise employing replicas of the technology in their own products for 20 years from now – which could spell trouble for imitators such as ObjectDock, RocketDock, and others. The patent puts a particular focus on the Dock's ability to magnify icons to a predetermined size when the cursor is near, the user's ability to rearrange icons, and how it indicates which applications are running.
User Comments (1)
Post a comment| midgetmax on October 11, 2008 12:54 AM | This is ridiculous. Personally i do not like the layout of the mac but i do like some of the features, like this dock. i personally use Star dock to organize my icons, because i like having a clean looking desktop. I don't see how they can do this though. It would be like Microsoft patenting their "Icons", since they were the first to use them (if i remember correctly). that's like patenting the steering wheel on a car and making every other car use bicycle handles.
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