Apple Patent for Rectangles With Corners

Apple has been awarded a design patent for the "rectangles with curved corners" look of the iPad.

The patent — called "Portable Display Device" and includes Steve Jobs among its inventors — was filed in November 2010 (six months after Apple launched its first-generation iPad tablet), but was finally approved on Tuesday by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

The image, which was modeled off of the first iPad, shows the tablet's signature curved corners. The patent has five total images that show the design from various angles.

In theory, the patent will prevent rivals and counterfeit makers from using Apple's design and could be used against them in court. But it's uncertain if the patent could be used in Apple's ongoing lawsuits against Samsung for allegedly copying its tablet design.

Earlier this year, a jury awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages for patent infringements against the manufacturer, with a looming possibility that several Samsung devices might be banned from the U.S.

Although Samsung was found guilty of infringement related to 28 devices, many of which are no longer sold in the U.S., Apple said in a filing that it “has tailored this list to address a portion of the immediate, ongoing, irreparable harm that Apple is suffering.”

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Homepage image courtesy iStockphoto, airportrait.