This can't be good for anyone but Apple—a patent app filed in 2004 has been granted for their capacitive multitouch display.
The patent is not necessarily all-encompassing, but it's certainly quite encompassing, as the abstract explains the patent is for:
"A touch panel having a transparent capacitive sensing medium configured to detect multiple touches or near touches that occur at the same time..."
Apple's touchscreen is still the best in the entire smartphone market, and while the implications of this patent are still unclear, it's certainly hard to imagine it helping any other companies close that gap. [freepatentsonline via Engadget]


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