Apple's "slide to unlock" patent, which has been at or near the center of a number of patent battles, has been continued -- and perhaps powerfully extended -- in a new patent just awarded to the Cupertino computer maker. The new patent, in addition to re-validating the original patent, adds the ability for Apple's particular "slide to unlock" gesture to open directly into an application, an expanded meaning that could have serious legal implications in the ongoing litigation.
