Patent

Judge Determines Apple’s iPhone Didn’t Infringe on Nokia Patents

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

It seems like everyone is suing each other in the tech world these days, particularly those in the mobile phone business. In case you haven't been keeping up with the latest in tech lawsuits, Apple and Nokia are suing each other over patent issues in the U.S. and Europe.

This specific court battle is being presided over by the ITC (International Trade Commission). Nokia has asked the ITC to bar the importation of Apple devices that infringe on Nokia Patents. While this move is just to block the shipping of Apple products that violate the patent laws, companion suits from Nokia are said to be under review by U.S. district courts seeking financial damages...

Apple Patent Hints at Graphics Driven UI in Future iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

For those not so familiar with the lingo, a patent basically gives an inventor exclusive rights to their invention. It prevents others from using your invention in their products. Patents are usually filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office long before an idea makes its way onto the shelf.

The reason why Apple patents are so popular is that everyone from Wall Street to gadget blogs wants to know what Apple's next innovation is going to be. Although a lot of patents never reach consumer products, it still gives us a glimpse of what Apple is working on...

Apple Files Lawsuit Against Amazon Over ‘App Store’ Trademark

Guest Author ∙ Updated October 23, 2016

Amazon has had an "appstore" developer portal since January; a place where developers can submit mobile applications for approval and then sell them on Amazon's website.

Bloomberg reports that Apple has filed a lawsuit against Amazon Inc. on March 18th over the “App Store” trademark used in their developer portal...

Microsoft and Apple Still Fighting Over ‘App Store’ Trademark

Alex Heath ∙ March 2, 2011

Microsoft has pointed the finger and claimed that it's unfair for Apple to trademark the phrase "App Store." Microsoft claims that the term is too generic, and that other companies should be able to use the phrase for their own mobile marketplaces.

Apple has had enough of Microsoft's wining, and has retaliated by calling out the generic nature of the term "Windows." Bet you didn't see that coming, Microsoft.

Patent News: A Peek At E-Wallet Icon and Photo Booth for the iPhone

Alex Heath ∙ February 24, 2011

In the latest Apple patent news, two recently awarded patents have revealed future plans for the iPhone. Apple appears to be working on some sort of "e-Wallet" application. It also seems that the "Photo Booth" application from Mac OS X will be coming to iOS.

Some type of Apple-designed mobile payment app corroborates the rumors that NFC technology will be implemented into the iPhone 5. When the iOS 4.3 beta was released, 9to5 Mac found two Photo Booth-related frameworks in the firmware. This new Photo Booth patent only affirms that we will in fact be able to use the dorky filters that Photo Booth has to offer on our iPhones.

Apple Planning to Improve Battery Life By Increasing Cell Density

Guest Author ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

With newer, more powerful dual and quad-core processors being introduced, these processors require more and more energy to operate. Apple realizes this and is looking into possible resolutions for better battery life while maintaining the same slim and sleek profile the iPhone 4 currently has.

Cupertino has filed a new patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office titled “Increasing Energy Density in Rechargeable Lithium Battery Cells,” which does just that...

Microsoft Claims that Apple Can’t Trademark “App Store”, Proceeds to Throw a Legal Hissy Fit

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

What do you do when your company has 66 billion dollars in revenue from last year? Invest in lots of hot startup companies and acquire more talented employees? No. You hire a highly-paid team of lawyers to file a pathetic motion for trademark denial to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

That's exactly what the giant industry grandfather, Microsoft, has done. Apple has already trademarked the phrase, "There's an app for that." But Microsoft doesn't think that Apple should have the rights to also trademark the term "App Store."

Although it's unclear as to whether Microsoft will win this appeal, it seems that Apple would have a stronger case. After all, the App Store has practically become a household name...

Apple Patent Indicates Plans For A Social Network iPhone App, With A Focus On Shopping

Alex Heath ∙ January 3, 2011

More and more shopping is happening online these days, but plenty of people still prefer brick and mortar stores to buy their jeggings in. On December 30th, 2010, Apple's latest patent was published. This patent hints at a native social networking app that Apple may implement in a future version of iOS. Such an app would merge social networking into a shopping experience.

This Ping-like, social-shopping network would allow users to have an enhanced shopping experience with participating merchants. Apple's patent is titled "Social Networking in Shopping Environments."

New Apple Patent May Indicate Future iPhone Antenna Plans

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 25, 2010

Now that the fallout from Antennagate has all but passed, Apple is exploring future options for antenna placement. They appear to be going back to the drawing board with the latest design; can you blame them?

As you are aware, the latest version of the iPhone, the iPhone 4, ditched the previous methods of embedding the antennas in favor of a metal band antenna forming a bezel around the phone. From a design standpoint this looked outstanding, but the good looks didn't exactly translate into good functionality...

Apple’s New “Spiral UI” Patent Could Replace Cover Flow

Alex Heath ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

Apple recently patented a new, spiral-based, graphical UI. Details on the patent reveal that the new "Spiral" interface is most likely intended to replace Cover Flow, an already existing interface in OS X and iOS. The design of the interface looks like it will work well with both standard and multi-touch displays, and will most likely be included in OS X Lion next summer.

The goal of this new interface is to display more information than was previously possible in a limited space. Like everything Apple does, another goal is to also make it as visually and aesthetically appealing as possible to the end user...

Laser Tag, It’s Coming to the iPhone

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Apple has filed another interesting patent detailing some extremely interesting multi-player gaming possibilities. Patently Apple has referred to the patent as an "Interactive Laser Gaming Application and/or Framework." Essentially, the new framework would allow iPhones to recreate what amounts to a game of laser tag.

Most people are familiar with laser tag, a game in which players wear light-sensitive vests that register a "hit" when shot by an infrared laser from another player's gun. This new Apple patent describes a similar environment, in which the iPhone would act as the vest and gun...