Slide to Unlock Patent

“Slide to Unlock” (US 8046721)

Breakdown of Claim 1 of the patent:

The first claim begins by formally defining the functionality and procedure of sliding to unlock. The claim explains that sliding to unlock is a method to unlock an electronic device to begin entry into the applications and features of the device. This method includes detecting contact to the screen on a specific starting location and sliding to a specific destination location without removing contact. To detect contact a certain type of pressure and contact will be required for the user to exert.

Specifically, the claim states that the starting predefined location will display some sort of visual cue to direct the use towards the predefined destination. Ultimately the device will go from a state of locked or inaccessible to unlocked or accessible after moving the designated symbol from the start location to the destination.

Patent Litigation related to the Slide to Unlock Patent between Apple v Samsung.

Apple argues that Samsung’s phones violate their Slide to Unlock patent, which is described in the previous blog. They show that the Samsung phones similarly gain contact with the device and slide on the screen to unlock the device.

One may think why to bother over such a trivial matter such as unlocking a phone. However, Apple claims to have formulated this slide to unlock feature through almost two years of research and development. They stated that it was the most optimal way to prevent accidental unlocks while keeping the unlocking process enjoyable for the user.

Apple not only sued Samsung from their headquarters in California, but also the Samsung branch in London.  When they sued in Europe, their efforts were to no avail, as the judges did not agree that Apple was the original inventor of the slide to unlock feature. In California there seemed to be a bit more favoring towards Apple as it was agreed that Apple did have the patent for and invent the slide to unlock feature.  Samsung showed that they had a similar feature, but it was not violating the slide to unlock patent as they could slide anywhere and had different options in unlocking the phone.

In May of 2014, Apple was awarded $119.6 million in damages due to Samsung’s infringement on their patents, but not the Slide to unlock patent. As for the slide to unlock patent, the U.S. court ruled that the Samsung's infringement was not willful.