Civilization Advances: Apple Patents the eBook Virtual Page Turn

The steam engine. Penicillin. And now, the virtual page turn.

The hearts of intellectual property professionals must be fluttering at the rise in respect - and income - they are enjoying as a result of Apple's aggressive foray into the patenting, copyrighting and trademarking everything around them that isnt nailed down - and quite a few things that probably are.

This was merely one of 38 patents granted Apple THIS WEEK.

While arguably a testament to ingenuity of Apple's employees - and the assertiveness of its patent counsel, this flurry, following on the heels of its victories over Samsung and a host of other would-be violators of its intellectual honor does raise some questions as well.

The biggest of which may be what this portends for the future. Apple has, in the past, been a prickly organization, cast in the image of its founder. But observers are wondering if this recent surge is a reflection of a growing concern that its competitive advantage may not be as insurmountable or sustainable as it has been of late. And that this defensive strategy is more a reflection of potential weakness than offensive strength in the face of increasing competition.

Betting against Apple or the intelligence of its leaders has not been a good bet of late. But the old adage about he who protests too much does come to mind. JL

Emily Price reports in Mashable:

Apple is now the proud owner of the page turn.

In a patent approved this week by the United States Patent Office Apple was awarded a design patent for “Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface.” The patent illustration shows three images: One with the corner of a page being turned slightly, the next with it halfway, and a third showing the page almost entirely turned over.

A feature used in Apple’s iBooks, and books in general, the patent represents one of 38 different patents granted to Apple this week.

The New York Times points out that this isn’t the first “seemingly obvious” patent that Apple has been awarded. Previously the company was granted a patent for the musical note icon it uses to represent iTunes and the glass staircase it uses it stores.

Over the past several years Apple has made quite a few headlines for its involvement in patent suits against other device makers.

Earlier this year Apple won a patent lawsuit against Samsung, walking away with $1 billion in restitution, and has recently made moves to go after Samsung products that were released after that court ruling, including the Galaxy Note 10.1.

Earlier this week it settled a different patent case with handset maker HTC with a 10-year licensing agreement of patents held by both companies reportedly requiring HTC to pay Apple $6-$8 per Android handset it sells.