Apple has received a blow from the US Patent Office with the news that its "bounce-back" patent has been rejected, handing a victory to Samsung in the latest stage of the two firms' seemingly never-ending IP battle.
The decision, which the patent office describes as final, judges that the "bounce-back" feature is not something Apple can claim ownership of.
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Apple is likely to contest the decision and has two months to respond.
"The word 'final' sounds more definitive than this really is," wrote Florian Mueller, founder of the FOSS Patents blog.
"Sometimes the [Patent Office's] Central Reexamination Unit reconsiders such 'final' decisions. Even if it doesn't, this 'final' rejection can and certainly will be appealed to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), sort of an appellate division within the USPTO."
This particular patent battle between Apple and Samsung concerns the "bounce-back" effect on mobile screens when the user reaches the end of a list.
Apple and Samsung were caught up in patent trials for much of last year, with Apple winning a sweeping victory in August when a US jury took under three days to call in favour of the iPhone and iPad producer on all but one case.
The jury came under criticism for its decision, with accusations that it didn't take enough time to consider it, and that there were elements of hometown bias for Apple, given the firm is based in Cupertino, not far from the courtroom.
However, Apple received a blow last October when a US sales ban on Samsung mobile products was overturned.
