The United States Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Apple and additional design patent for the iPad’s “ornamental design.” US Patent D670,286 was reviewed by the office and awarded on Tuesday.

Translated from legalese, this basically means Cupertino managed to patent the rounded rectangle. Again.

Apple already used a similar patent, D504,889, in its legal crusade against Samsung, with mixed success. Apparently Apple came across a jury of twelve sane people who decided the patent was not infringed upon.

However, unlike the D504,889, the new patent is a proper rounded corner patent, with several iPad drawings and proportions. So while the patent covers the basic iPad shape, proportions could potentially be used to claim that any company using a similar aspect ratio bezel or chamfered edge is copying Apple’s iPad.

Legal experts do not believe the patent will be of any use to Apple, unless it goes after iPad knockoffs with  the exact same dimensions or proportions.

More here.