Apple patent-case win could point to new digital age for smartphones

If the swipe is the essential gesture of the smartphone revolution, the pinch is a close second. Many of the coolest things that can be done on today’s mobile devices — from finding an out-of-the-way bar to determining whether a thunderstorm is going to ruin your party — are made easier by placing fingers on the screen and sliding them.

The $1 billion court ruling for Apple, which upheld patents for what manufacturers call “pinch to zoom,” among other popular features, has clouded the future of the gesture for anyone inclined to buy mobile devices from other companies. The ruling has sparked searches for possible alternatives to the pinch — some have suggested finger taps, circles, wiggles — while also highlighting questions about whether a company should be able to patent how humans interact with their machines once those interactions become standardized. “I don’t know what you do about ‘pinch and zoom,’ ” said Tim Wu, a Columbia University law professor critical of the ruling. “That’s the cost of this decision. All the phones have to use less-efficient tools.” Several legal steps remain.