Apple Dock : Genie and Loading Effect. They trademarked by apple?

D

demonic

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I was looking at GameSpy Arcade, and noticed that their vertical menu on the left handside is using a similar Genie effect that apple uses on their dock. You know, when you scroll with the mouse, and the icons go bigger and smaller when you scroll near them... etc.

How was gamespy allowed to do this? Is the above trademarked by apple? Or is this a free idea, allowed to be copied by anyone else?

I was also wondering if the jumping of the icon when selected, was also trademarked?

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

[edit]
I forgot to mention, if a software company decided to build a front-end with these two in mind, would they get sued by Apple?
[/edit]
 
Genie Effect
"The United States Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday granted Apple Computer with a patent for an "ornamental design for a user interface for computer display."

Otherwise known to Mac OS X users as the "genie effect," the feature presents the illusion that application and Finder windows are shrinking into the system dock when minimized by the user.

The document credits the original design to Bas Ording, an interface developer who has endured a lengthy term at Apple working directly under the helm of Steve Jobs.

Apple filed for the patent in February of 2002, two years after the company first introduced Mac OS X and the Mac OS X Dock to the world."

I do not think Apple tradmarked the bouncing icon/loading icon with arrow underneath it yet. I think the Genie effect trademark applies to other companies/individuals who use it in their operating systems.
The ability to move over an image with your mouse and enlarge the image is not new. Javascript takes advantage of this function. It is just the sucking effect into and out of the dock that bring up the pages contents that is TM.
 
The genie effect is the way windows slide into the Dock when minimized. The effect you're talking about is magnification. — I doubt that would be patentable. Same goes for the loading. I mean, can you really patent a bouncing icon?

If Apple has patents for either of these things, it would have to be limited to very specific applications, which might not even apply to web sites.
 
The original poster's edit is the big thing:

Using it as a frontend or, in general, Application launching interface IS a ripoff; IIRC, Apple's lawyers were unleashed upon the author of the Windows Dock application "Y'z Dock"
 
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