Another day, another lawsuit. Apple has been sued by a company called Spacetime3D over claims it is infringing on its patents relating to displaying three-dimensional elements on a display, reports iMore.
The lawsuit, filed by Susman Godfrey on behalf of SpaceTime3D, targets the defendant’s iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches for alleged infringement of three patents related to interfacing with computer graphics.
Spacetime 3D has also sued LG and Samsung for the same alleged patent infringement. Here’s the abstract of the disputed patent (number 9696868): “Methods and systems are provided for an improved three-dimensional graphical user interface. In one embodiment, the method generally comprises: receiving a plurality of inputs from a user and opening a plurality of applications in response thereto, wherein outputs from each application are displayed (e.g., individually) within a two-dimensional space. The method further comprises allowing a user to switch between the plurality of applications by generating images of each output, and displaying those images (e.g., collectively) within a three-dimensional space. The user can then interact with a particular application by selecting a corresponding one of the images displayed within the three-dimensional space. In one embodiment, the method further comprises replacing the output(s) in two-dimensional space with the images in three-dimensional space, and replacing the images in three-dimensional space with the output from the selected application in two-dimensional space.”
