Oops! Google Gets Caught Copying An Apple Patent Graphic
by Brent Dirks
July 19, 2013
If you can’t beat them, join them. That seems to be the new motto of Google’s patent writers. As noticed by Patently Apple, Google has obviously “borrowed” a graphic that first appeared in an Apple filing for a patent of its own.
As you can see, Google’s recent patent filing, which details using a computer with presence detection, is just a little bit similar to a 2012 Apple patent filing. Apple’s patent described a wide touchpad for MacBooks.
And if you’re still skeptical, Patently Apple runs down the similarities:
As you could see for yourself, the hand positioning in the Google patent figure is absolutely identical to Apple's granted patent figure. Also notice that the trackpad strip is also identical. The thing is that Google's other patent figures noted in their recent patent filing don't illustrate a wide strip trackpad which further proves that Google's team just ripped the graphic from Apple's patent. On the flipside, Apple's patent is in fact pertaining to a wide trackpad and for the same concept of presence detection as one of invention's functions. Furthermore, the lines that illustrate the camera's area coverage are identical in placement as those found in the Apple patent. Other than there being a round hole representing the camera position in Google's patent, this has simply been lifted from Apple's granted patent 8,098,233.You’d think Google could actually create its own illustrations for something as important as a patent filing. But hey, at least it isn’t Samsung with the copy machine, this time. For more news today, see: Apple Likely To Drop iOS 7 Beta 4 On Monday, July 22, Apple To Webcast Tuesday's June Quarter Earnings Call, and Streaming Music Volume Jumps 24 Percent Ahead Of Apple's iTunes Radio Launch.
