The notification for grant of patent rights to leather for use in gloves, capable of interfacing with touchscreen devices such as iPhones, Samsung Galaxy S3s and the new iPad Mini, officially issued November 13, 2012 and will be published in the Patents Journal, according to the letter of issuance, on December.
In early 2012, rumours began circulating throughout the glove manufacturing and retail world, questioning the legitimacy of GLTs pending patents for glove technology. Indeed, “as can be clearly seen by this granting of a patent in the UK (patent number GB2482417), we were substantially accurate in asserting we had a patentable invention,” states Gerald (Jerry) Leto, Founder and CTO of GLT.
With respect to GLT’s US patent application, GLT remains optimistic that its patent will issue, as well. “Being granted a patent is actually far more complex and involved than most people realise.
GLT’s pending patent applications are the subject of both US and international patent filings and are currently being handled by the law firm of Baker & McKenzie, a global law firm with 70 offices worldwide.
GLT is a pioneer in the development of touchscreen compatible leather and textiles. GLT’s TouchTec leather, first introduced in September, 2009, enables even those with prosthetic hands to interface with capacitive touchscreen devices. TouchTec “enabled” gloves allow the wearer to interface with capacitive touchscreen mobile devices such as the Apple iPhone, iPad and Google Android powered mobile devices without need to remove the gloves
