Damn. Not looking good for Palm and other companies...

 The "don't rip off our IP" spat between Apple and Palm continues: Turns out the U.S. Patent Office has gone ahead and awarded Apple a patent covering its "multitouch" technology, including gestures such as "pinching" and "swiping."

 

Will it be the ace up Apple's sleeve?Apple's newly approved patent (first reported by World of Apple) could spell trouble for Palm and its new, red-hot phone—the Palm Pre—which (among other features) includes a multitouch-enabled touch display, complete with support for (you guessed it) gestures like pinching and swiping.

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http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/34848

Damn you Steve Jobs.......damn you to hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They should own the patent for this. They were the innovators of this technology. No one thought twice about a touch screen phone or multitouch gestures prior to the iPhone

I don't know for sure, but I find it hard to imagine other companies weren't using this type of technology befor Apple. I figured Apple was just the company that became big utilizing the technology.