Like it or not, algorithms are patentable when expressed in associated hardware. This fits the guidelines as its expression *requires* a touchscreen. The hardware doesn't *have* to be new or unique, just the algorithm.
Here's the latest on the issue:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application...t-Case-814678/
Note:
Quote:
the court also rejected the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that a concept called the machine-or-transformation test was the only test that could be allowed for considering whether a a patent should be granted. That test considers whether the patent involves a machine or in some way transforms some object from one state to another.
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The courts just said that hardware expression is *not* the *only* test of patentability but clearly, anything that is so expressed *is* patentable.