The patent was granted in January of this year, but follows a previous patent from February 2000. This patent belongs to a certain Jim McKeeth. His patent, however, does not quite describe the slide-to-unlock, but refers to a touch screen that allows access to the system based on useful geometrical symbols drawn on the screen, and the associated electronics connected to a screen that compares drawings to the users image stored in the system.

Apple's patent relates to a time span from 2004 to 2005, and it may not be separately patentable and cannot invalidate the Micron patent. Instead Micron’s patent invalidates the one that Apple has been trying to beat people up with.

All clear? Not really, because believe it or not, this will have an impact on Apple's jurisprudence with Samsung, which has a deal with Micron on cross-licensing of patents and technology, while Apple, Google, and RIM don’t have that agreement. This decision will probably impact more than a few patent victories that Apple has had in the past.

[Ed – We called it last year and will stand behind it. Apple reached too far and became very much like RAMBUS from the 90s. They were always going to end up with a pile of invalid patents or a company that no one wanted to work with. Based on the often ridiculous nature of their patents we expected the former and are still seeing the later. We still hope that Apple will get back to doing what they actually do be, take an existing idea and tweak it to make it a little better. Unfortunately they ended up believing their own marketing and are suffering for that in more ways that losing patents.]

What do you think about Apple losing another of their attack patents? Tell us in our forum