Patent

Court upholds ban on iCloud push email in Germany

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Earlier this year, a German court slapped Apple with an injunction, forcing the company to disable iCloud's push email service in the country. The move was the direct result of a Motorola lawsuit, who claimed Apple was using its patented technology in the feature.

Well things got worse today for the iPad-makers. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a German regional court has upheld the previous decision of the ban on Apple's iCloud service, essentially granting Motorola a victory in the ongoing patent war...

Apple working on high quality “unibody” earbuds

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Imagine that, another patent application has popped up in the United States Patent and Trademark Office database this week with Apple's name on it. The filing is entitled Ultrasonically Welded Structures and Methods for Making the Same.

But don't let the ridiculously long name scare you. The patent is part of a group of cross-referenced filings that all make up different parts of a pair of high quality unibody headphones that it seems Apple is working on in its labs...

Apple looking to make iOS app creation easier with new authoring tool

Cody Lee ∙ April 12, 2012

AppleInsider spotted an interesting patent application this morning entitled 'Content Configuration for Device Platforms.' The document was filed by Apple on December 15th of last year.

The patent describes a piece of software that would help non-programmers develop iOS applications. Remember the iBooks authoring tool Apple released back in January? Yeah, this is a lot like that...

Woz on patent war fallout, Tim Cook, post-PC world, tight Apple ecosystem

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 11, 2012

Steve Wozniak, who with his friend Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computer on April 1, 1976 , always has interesting things to say about his company, competition and the technology industry at large. In an interview yesterday, the outspoken gadget lover expressed concern over patent wars.

He argued that patent-related litigation often blocks off start-ups and young thinkers because big boys make sure they own it all.

He also isn't convinced that we'll stop using computers in the post-PC world and said it's too early to judge Tim Cook as Steve Jobs has stamped his mark on products that are three years in the queue...

Apple’s SIM connector patent explained and why it matters for Nano SIM

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 6, 2012

As Apple fights rivals Nokia, Motorola and Research In Motion for the upcoming Nano SIM card standard, a new patent filing indicates the company is thinking beyond smartphones. The iPhone maker already holds an important Nano SIM patent and now we've learned they're researching a universal SIM card connector solution.

Yes, it would require a "drawer" and devices would need to be engineered with this in mind, but the benefits offset engineering hassles. Apple's SIM card connector solution could let you transfer a SIM card from one device to another. Plus, it is reliable and resistant to damage by an improper insertion of a SIM card.

It even works with Integrated Circuit Card found in credit cards, broadening potential uses to e-commerce applications. And if this patent filing is an indication, Apple's universal SIM connector could be coming to a MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple television near you...

iTunes is the target of a new lawsuit

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 29, 2012

Apple is today finding itself on the wrong end of another lawsuit, with iTunes this time feeling the full force of America's somewhat broken patent system. As is the done thing these days, someone claiming to own a patent that may be infringed upon by a large company is seeking damages for said infringement.

According to a report in Computer World, a man named Benjamin Grobler believes that iTunes, along with Sony's PlayStation Network, infringes upon a patent he owns which covers a "data vending system."

This system allows the central hosting of apps, movies or music, with information on what a customer has already purchased already also being part of the system. Sound familiar? Yup, that's iTunes in the Cloud, then...

Apple researching iSight cameras with 3D imaging and facial gestures recognition

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 29, 2012

According to a patent filing that surfaced today in the US Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) database, Apple is researching a much-improved camera for mobile devices that could recreate 3D models of scanned objects as well as capture gestures and facial expressions. It works with both stills and video and employs one or more dedicated cameras to capture 3D objects.

The system is based on new depth-detection sensors, such as LIDAR, RADAR and laser, that create stereo disparity maps in 3D imagery. With the ability to both capture and recreate 3D images, this killer imaging system could elevate the already powerful imaging capabilities of the five-megapixel iSight camera on the new iPad and its eight-megapixel counterpart found on the iPhone 4S.

Can we have this on the iPhone 5, please?

New patent reveals Apple’s work on quick refreshing LCD TVs

Cody Lee ∙ March 27, 2012

For those of you that are still skeptical about the rumors we've heard over the last few months that Apple is working on a full-scale TV set, you might want to check this out.

What we have here is a patent, filed by Apple, that details a significant advancement in a high refresh rate LCD technology called Fringe Field Switching, or FSS...

Why you won’t see ‘pull-to-refresh’ function in native iOS apps anytime soon

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Users have been calling for Apple to implement the popular 'pull-to-refresh' feature into Mail and other native iOS apps for quite some time now. The function, which is found in Tweetbot and several other third-party applications, allows you to refresh the on-screen information by pulling down on the app's UI.

But judging by this report from designer Dustin Curtis, we won't be seeing the easy refresh option integrated into native iOS apps anytime soon. Why? Well apparently Twitter owns the patent to it...

Apple spoke with Samsung multiple times in 2010 to try to avoid litigation

Cody Lee ∙ March 26, 2012

Even though the patent war between Apple and Samsung has seemingly fallen from the media spotlight for the time being (which we're totally OK with), the battles are still very much going on.

As you may know, the two companies have been in and out of courtrooms all around the world over the past year entangled in patent litigation. And there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. But what you may not know is, Apple actually approached Samsung multiple times two years ago to try and avoid this entire mess...

Apple patent depicts iPhone as self-programming TV remote

Cody Lee ∙ March 22, 2012

While most inventions depicted in Apple's patents don't usually end up in consumer products, they do provide an interesting look into the company's R&D labs. Some are particularly entertaining when they fall in line with persistent rumors.

Such is the case with the new "Configurable Remote Control" patent, discovered this morning by PatentlyApple. The invention shows a method of using your iPhone as a self-programming universal TV remote...

Department of Justice approves Apple’s acquisition of Nortel patents

Jake Smith ∙ March 12, 2012

The US Department of Justice has just approved the sale of Nortel patents to the group Rockstar Consortium, which is an alliance made up of Apple, Microsoft, Research In Motion, Ericsson and Sony. The acquisition is priced at roughly $4.5 billion and will give the group 4,000 patents, reports The Next Web.

The patents are vital, and cover areas like 4G, network, voice, and more...