Anyone who has spent some time with iBooks should be familiar with the way pages turn on ebooks. It’s unique in that it mirrors the appearance of a page turning on a real book. Apple has now been granted patent on the particular animation with patent number D670,713 titled “Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface.”

The animation responds to a simple swiping motion with the finger, which turns the page over just as it happens on a paper book. A different swiping motion will flip the pages quickly, and a vertical finger movement will flip the page just enough to reveal what’s on the next page.

The animations go a long way in making even the most avid traditional reader of printed books adjust to the digital versions. The unique animation is the handiwork of three designers—Elizabeth Caroline Cranfill, Mikio Inose, and Stephen Lemay—who submitted their patent application at the US Patent and Trademark office. It took almost a year for the patent to finally be granted.

Apple has also been highlighting the page turning animation in the iPad Mini ads.