Patent

Samsung to Apple: Give Us the iPhone 4S Source Code

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Samsung has requested that Apple hand over the source code for the iPhone 4S firmware along with the dark details of its iPhone subsidy agreements with Australian carriers. In the ongoing legal battle between Samsung and Apple, both companies continue to accuse each other of infringing on each other's patents.

After fighting legal battles in multiple countries around the world, Samsung and Apple have landed in the Australian court to duke it out. This time, Samsung is countering Apple's preliminary injunction on the Galaxy Tab with its own preliminary injunction against the newly-released iPhone 4S.

Patent Shows Apple’s Interest in 3D Gesture Controls

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Apple has spent the last several years revolutionizing the way we interact with our mobile gadgets. Sure, there were touchscreen devices before the iPhone. But none of them worked as well Apple's handset. And the same can be said about Siri and voice control.

It appears that Apple isn't going to settle for just touch and voice controls. A new patent application has surfaced that reveals that the Cupertino company is experimenting with non-touch gesture controls for its iOS devices. And here's how it would work...

Apple Granted Patent for ‘Slide to Unlock’ Gesture

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone back in 2007, he had a blast showing off the company's first handset. One feature he particularly enjoyed demonstrating was the phone's unlocking mechanism — the now famous Slide to Unlock component.

He loved that users could unlock the phone so easily, and it wasn't something that could be triggered by accident in a pants or coat pocket. He loved it so much, that he didn't want anyone else to have it. So naturally Apple filed a patent application...

Microsoft Now Making Money on Half of All Android Devices

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Apple has been openly fighting against Android manufacturers for the past several months. The Cupertino company has accused handset makers like Samsung, HTC, and Motorola Mobility of infringing on its intellectual property.

A lot of people believe that Apple's hoard of patent lawsuits are going to end up stifling innovation, but they're not the only ones doing it. In fact, at this point, Android partners should probably be more afraid of Microsoft and its IP...

Why Google Should be Nervous About Android’s Future

Cody Lee ∙ October 17, 2011

Google's Android operating system has certainly rocked the mobile industry over the last three years. With multiple manufacturers offering hundreds of feature-packed handsets around the world, the little green robot certainly has a lot going for it.

However, stiff competition from Apple and Microsoft, along with dozens of lawsuits coming from seemingly every direction, look to stop Android's explosive growth dead in it's tracks. How long can the mobile OS survive in this hostile industry?

Steve Jobs Patent Helps Apple Score Major Legal Win in Australia

Cody Lee ∙ October 13, 2011

Popular tech patent-analyst Florian Mueller is reporting that Apple has just scored a major legal win in Australia. The Cupertino company has been battling Samsung all over the globe, and it just scored a major victory in Sydney.

On Mueller's blog, FOSSPatents, he discusses the importance of a recent decision by the Federal Court of Australia in the Apple vs. Samsung patent dispute. The court has just ordered an interim injunction over Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1...

Apple Files For In-App Purchasing Patent

Cody Lee ∙ October 11, 2011

Wpcentral passes on a report from the Inquisitr regarding Apple's latest move in the world of patents. Apparently the Cupertino company recently made some significant changes to its 2010 patent application on in-app purchasing.

While there could be several reasons behind the update, two of them stick out. First, there's that pesky Lodsys lawsuit Apple keeps trying to intervene in regarding several iOS developers and in-app purchasing. And the second...

Apple Refused ‘Multi-Touch’ Trademark

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 27, 2011

Way back on January 9th, 2007, Apple brought the original iPhone into existence, and the rest as they say, is history. On that very same day, the Cupertino company also filed for a trademark for Multi-Touch. And now, 4 years later, the United States Patent and Trademarks Office has made its decision on the application.

In what is a rare knock-back for Apple, the USPTO has decided that Apple was not the rightful owner of the Multi-Touch trademark and, unsurprisingly, the iPhone-making giant decided to appeal. That appeal has now been heard, and Tim Cook and co. are still out of luck...

Apple Working on Universal Charging and Syncing Cable For Macs, iDevices

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 26, 2011

It's patent time again, and the latest discovery by those eagle-eyed patent-watchers at AppleInsider have spied a new application that hints at an improved method of charging and syncing our mobile devices.

The patent, originally filed all the way back in 2001 and recently improved upon, suggests Apple's boffins are keen to reduce the number cables and connectors we use for our mobile devices – that's Macbooks, iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. The old-fashioned click wheel iPods should also be able to get in on the action...

Apple’s Point-of-Sale System for the iPhone Detailed in New Patent

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 8, 2011

Apple may be widely known for its consumer and prosumer products, with Macs, iPhones and iPads providing its core business, but a new patent details what could be a move into the world of business and retail, with a new Point-of-Sale system in the pipeline.

While we doubt it will feature the tell-tale glowing Apple logo, the glorified barcode scanner does feature one Apple trait – it fixes a problem than many store workers don't know they have...

Apple Working on “Find My Friends” Social Network

Alex Heath ∙ September 6, 2011

Apple hasn't been successful at the social network scene. There was Game Center (Do people still use that?). And there was the diaster known as Ping.

Apple hasn't gained traction with social network integration in iTunes, but the Cupertino company looks to be stepping up its game in iOS 5. It's already been announced that there will be Twitter integration in iOS 5, and recent findings point towards a new social network from Apple dubbed "Find My Friends."

Apple Details Smart iDevice Diagnostic Tool in Patent

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 1, 2011

It's Apple patent time again here at iDownloadbBlog, and the latest to be discovered by Patently Apple points to a fancy new iTunes based diagnostic tool for iOS devices.

The new tool will create and monitor in-depth change logs, as well as check things like the device's location and other physical conditions. The idea is that the logs show what a device was doing and where it was doing it at definable points in time. The patent mentions the logs could be generated at every restart, every day, or every time a particular action is performed...