Apple V Samsung: Can Look And Feel Be Patented?

Get ready for “rubberbanding.” That’s the way the screen on an iPad or iPhone seems to bounce when you scroll to the bottom of a file -- and it’s among the terms jurors must understand as Apple and Samsung Electronics face off in a patent trial this week.

Apple has become the most valuable company by creating products that stand out for design and ease of use, stemming from scores of smaller innovations, such as rubberbanding, rather than epic underlying technology breakthroughs. In the trial in federal court in San Jose, California, Apple will try to prove to jurors that its brand of innovation is not only effective in the marketplace, but also defensible in a courtroom. “Everyone has a sense that Apple does something different,” said Cheryl Milone, chief executive officer at Article One Partners, which makes software used to prove or disprove intellectual property claims. “Whether those differences can be protected in court is the question.”