On the Swipe-to-Unlock Patent

Ben Brooks on HTC's recent victory in the Swipe to Unlock trial:

I’m actually really glad Apple lost this patent because it’s something that just seems silly to not have on touchscreen devices.

This is a rare time when I disagree with Ben. Swipe to unlock may seem "silly not to have on a touchscreen device" now that you've been using it for 5 years. But Apple came up with that idea to overcome a potential problem. And now that Apple has figured out an excellent solution other companies should be allowed to just take that idea without putting in any of the work? I strongly disagree.