Just as Google is changing its plans to make Apple's inventions available to everyone, Apple is patenting all of its inventions related to iOS, software, interface and multi-touch.
Last week, the company received a patent that displays the iPhone's user interface in great detail. To date, another patent for an invention that Apple bought from a Canadian inventor is being reviewed by the United States Patent & Trademark Office's (USPTO) for a significant amount.
Engadget first discovered this patent called "Method for providing human input to a computer", which belongs to Timothy R. Pryor, who originally patented it in 1995.
So what does this invention, which already 17 years old, mean to Apple?
You will be surprised to learn that it can be used almost everywhere, from tablets to the cockpit of an airplane or the display in a car:
And briefly from Apple's patent application:
Apple has not commented on the Pryor deal, and it probably won't, even if the patent confirms the deal.
Apple is looking to solidify its patent portfolio with the aim of getting high fees from Samsung and other Android backers.
