Multi-Touch™ is a trademark of Apple Inc.
MacDailyNews Take: This must be news to many, as we see an awful lot of analysts, media outlets, and even Microsoft themselves using Apple’s Multi-Touch™ trademark (United States Patent and Trademark Office, Serial Number: 77219819) to describe Microsoft’s recent demo of their latest derivative and highly-vaporous OS, “Windows 7.”
So, Microsoft, PC Magazine, PC World et al., just so you know, Multi-Touch™ is a trademark of Apple Inc.
And don’t you forget it. 
Off to the races. It is CopyCat versus BigCat. May the bigger cat win.
Multi-Touch is the Apple name for multi-touch technology. It cans till be called multi-touch, thats just the general name given to it.
Microshaft has a way of ignoring patents, copyrights, monopoly laws, and any other legalese that says they can’t do something. They throw an army of lawyers at you and stall until you run out of money. I don’t think they’ll be bothered by the fact that Apple owns the name Multi-Touch, or even that they have a patent on the technology.
I am sure the innovation wizards at Microsoft will come up with their own creative alternative name like: Many-touch
Wikipedia: “A registered trademark confers a bundle of exclusive rights upon the registered owner, including the right to exclusive use of the mark in relation to the products or services for which it is registered. The law in most jurisdictions also allows the owner of a registered trademark to prevent unauthorized use of the mark in relation to products or services which are identical or “colourfully” similar to the “registered” products or services, and in certain cases, prevent use in relation to entirely dissimilar products or services.”
Mikrocrap will just use the longer name like “Multiple-Touch Technology” or like 84 Mac Guy said “Many-Touch Technology”
However, I think it would behoove Microsoft to just trademark the name “Copied-Touch” and use it.
People are free to misuse trademarks all they want, no matter how many angry letters a company sends. It’s only illegal to brand a product you’re selling with someone else’s trademark.
Print out this email and xerox it.
Yes.
Microsoft’s trademark is Multi-Asswipe™
REALTORben, Multiple-Touch Technology – Live
which oddly is the Magic word
I vote that MS’s new touch name be “Fingering Touch”
Hmmm, yeah that’s it.
Microsoft Windows 7- featuring Lotsa-Fingers-Moving-At-The-Same-Time-Touch™.
or multi-fumble, multi-miss, multi-poke, ham-fisted-touch, club-fingered-gestures,
Microsoft will call it Moldy-Touch.
@ Evil Twin
Let me guess which finger!
or Multi-Crap™
my thoughts: MS will call it “Gesture” or “Handy”… ooh, I better stop, they’re not paying me for this!
MS: “Oops, we meant monkey-touch and, we’ve applied for trademark protection!”
@maybe
LOL.. yeah thats exactly what it should be called.
ahhhhh bite me apple ! at least it’s not called iTouch or some stupid “i” branding. oh well microsoft will just call it windows touch
Once, Apple made a remarkable OS based on “windows”. Microsoft copied it and named it “Windows”. Recently apple made a new interface interaction called Multi-touch™. Microsoft will copy it, sooner or later, and will call it “Touches”
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I was wondering about that… I could’ve sworn I saw an article a while back saying that Apple had trademarked it.
Finger Squirt
˙©2008 Microsoft
Beautiful, MDN!
I love how, without even writing it, this article so clearly states: “Apple leads. Microsoft follows. As Usual.”
The commentator at a demo can say almost anything she wants. The trademark just means when MS is shipping that box of Windows 7, they can’t use the words “multi-touch” on the side.
That’s a long way away, and a lot of “ifs” before we have to worry about it. It would be cool if MS *did* try to use the term though. Nothing funnier than a court order freezing the release of Windows 7 on the day it debuts. 😀
MS Big Ass Table featuring Multi-Tush™.