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Steve Jobs claimed in his Keynotes speech that his multi touch technology was unique to Apple, yet they secretly bought out a company who had successfully implemented multi-touch screens in the past

The hype over touch screen technology has swept the globe in recent months, with the introduction of the iPhone, LG KE850, the BenQ-Siemens Black Box concept, the Nokia Aeon, the Meizu and the NEO1973. Each of these phones claims to have touch screen features, yet only Apple have claimed to have the multi touch.  In Steve Jobs Keynotes, he claimed that Apple have invented the Multi Touch technology, yet from what is known, Apple seem a bit late in the claims.

FingerWorks, an advanced technology company had already invented the ‘Multi-Touch’ technology years ago with their TouchStream LP keyboard and iGesture pads that they been using for years. FingerWorks was started by two professors, Elias and Westerman at the University of Delaware. Their aim was to create a technology based on a large touch pad with a keyboard printed on it. Instead of pushing down keys to type out letters, you simply ‘touched’ the screen to activate. To move the mouse, you simply placed two fingers on the pad and moved it around like the two finger scrolling function Apple users use on their laptops. 

What made the TouchStream unique was the way the pad recognized all 10 fingers off a users hand and where they were in relation to the pad. The technology eventually evolved into the iGesture where certain hand/finger combinations and movements where programmed as commands.

With such a unique invention under its wings, it was surprise to hear that back in February 2005, FingerWorks oddly quit replying to support requests and retailers stopped taking orders. Four months later, the main page on FingerWorks’s homepage published a comment stating “FingerWorks has ceased operations as a business.” No one knew why this had happened, and the FingerWorks forum was crowded with viewers speculating who had bought them out. IBM, Microsoft and Apple where all considered but no one could be sure. It was only later on that it was confirmed that Elias and Westerman had been bought out by Apple but due to strict NDA’s everything was kept under wraps.

When Steve Jobs announced the iPhone in his Keynotes speech, he stated that this multi touch technology was that of Apples, giving no credit to the real creators. But with the amount of money Elias and Westerman received from the purchase of their company, along with the backing of Apple, who knows what is in store. The Mac Tablet is next on speculations list, with rumors already being spread about the features which will hopefully be included.

Apples behavior lately has been that of a surprising manner, with legal battles and past stories uncovered which show Apple in a new light. The latest story to be covered is that of Apple and the Beatles finally calling off the 29 year battle over the trademark lawsuit. Apple was originally founded by the Beatles and named ‘Apple Corp’ in 1968. Eight years later Apple Inc was founded by the computer company we know so much about today. After a settled lawsuit costing $80,000 on Apple inc’s behalf over the apple logo, Apple inc agreed to stay out of the music business, but after the release of the iPod and iTunes 2001, Apple inc was sued once more. The lawsuit fell in 2006, with Apple inc being let off after being found in the clear. Early this year, the trademark war was resolved between the two Apple’s but the terms and conditions of this agreement remain a secret.

Along with this, Apple also had to battle over the trademark name ‘MAC’ which was previously owned by Management and Computer Services inc and McIntosh Laboratories. Both issues where happily resolved and there are no trademark infringements that we know of still lurking around today.

Once again, it is uncertain why Apple gets involved in such complex situations. Hopefully when Apple next releases a new product, they will think twice about the name they create, and sift through copyright archives to ensure that their next announcement won’t create a new wave of law suits.