As mentioned elsewhere, Apple's technology here comes from buying up FingerWorks (and hiring the founders). If FingerWorks had not been able to secure a patent on the technology they developed, Apple (or any other company) could have simply copied what they did instead of acquiring them or developing their own technology, which doesn't do much to promote the Progress of Science. Indeed, FingerWorks probably would never have been founded if it could not have differentiated itself with patented technology.