Patent

Apple says Motorola asked for more than 12 times going rate to license its patents

Cody Lee ∙ July 26, 2013

As Apple continues to hold unfruitful settlement talks with Samsung, it seems to have reached an impasse with Motorola as well. The iPad-maker has submitted a new court filing, accusing the Google-owned company of overcharging for its standards essential patents.

The complaint lodged against Motorola was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today, as part of Apple's opening brief in an appeal effort. Apple wants the court to force Motorola—which is Google at this point—to license its technology at a fair price...

New Apple invention detects usage patterns to save iPhone battery life

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 3, 2017

Longer battery life is one of those things that's usually at the top of people's smartphone feature wish list. I know it is mine. But unfortunately, there hasn't been any major new developments in mobile battery tech over the last few years.

Companies like Motorola are figuring it out though. The Google-owned maker just introduced a new handset with a staggering 48-hour battery life. And according to this patent application just published by the USPTO, Apple is too...

Can Apple get its mojo back without high iPhone gross margins?

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 24, 2013

Apple CEO Tim Cook's message Tuesday was clearly: "We're back!" But can a company which has experienced four quarters of sliding shares and a stock value that's dropped around 40 percent since September make such a claim without traditionally fat gross margins?

The iPhone - Apple's flagship product - has seen its per unit revenue fall with the iPad telling a similar story. In an ironic development, Apple products once overshadowed by the iPhone and iPad now are revenue champs, according to a Wednesday report...

Apple’s dual-image sensor patent focuses on higher quality images

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 24, 2013

While we've all heard the saying "two heads are better than one," a new Apple patent applies that thinking to digital images. The patent, granted Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, describes a method of combining two image sensors to produce a photo with the best quality.

In its U.S. Patent No. 8,493,482 filing, Apple outlines a 'Dual image sensor image processing system and method.' The company mentions the iPhone, iPod and some Macs as potentially benefitting from the technology, suggesting a likely iSight camera bump up and better imaging on future devices...

Apple proposes media sharing with on-hold callers

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 23, 2013

The experience of being on hold is ubiquitous. Sometimes the wait is accompanied by music, sometimes by ads, and other times just silence. Wouldn't it be better to flip through photos from the recipient or listen to tunes you actually like? Apple thinks so.

That's the idea behind a patent granted the iPhone maker Tuesday, replacing the standard on-hold message with content you'd like to share with people who call you at a busy time...

Samsung and Apple renew settlement talks, but no deal yet

Cody Lee ∙ July 19, 2013

Apple and Samsung have reportedly renewed settlement talks, in an effort to put an end to their ongoing, global litigation. Since 2011, the two tech giants have been involved in countless patent lawsuits, in over 10 countries.

Word of their resumed resolution efforts comes by way of The Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, the outlet says the two even came close to an agreement in February, but things have since cooled off...

Google shamelessly lifts Apple’s patent illustration

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

I was shocked learning about the extent of Google's copying this morning. Apparently one of Google's patent filings with The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) uses a familiar-looking illustration to depict a generic computer.

Let me jut say it: Google's drawing is an exact replica of an illustration accompanying an older Apple patent filing. You'd have thought with all the commotion surrounding Google's plagiarism and Samsung ripping off Apple wholesale that the search giant should know better...

Apple moves to patent in-display fingerprint sensor tech

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

One of the big new features in the upcoming iPhone 5S, Apple's next generation smartphone, is expected to be a built-in fingerprint sensor. To be fair, we've yet to see any evidence of this, but reports have been consistent over past 6 months.

Up until now, most folks have presumed that if Apple were to outfit its handset with such a sensor, that it would build it into the Home button. But according to a new patent filing from the company, it could build it right into the display...

Apple patents advanced Liquidmetal processing techniques as new gadgets loom

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2013

We've been waiting and waiting (and waiting) for a Liquidmetal Apple gadget ever since that 2010 deal saw Apple acquire worldwide exclusive rights to use the amorphous alloy (also known as metallic glass) in consumer electronics applications. 2012 went and gone without a Liquidmetal iPhone, or iPad or MacBook for that matter.

At the end of 2012 Apple extended the deal with Liquidmetal Technologies (a Caltech spinoff) or another two years, through 2014. Still, the iPhone maker has yet to use the alloy in gadgets, even though it's owned the rights to it since 2010. This could change soon, if a new patent gain unearthed Wednesday is an indication.

That the United States Patent & Trademark Office awarded Apple's patent on a process for mass production of amorphous metals is a sign of Apple potentially moving to commercialize Terminator-like alloy. Liquidmetal iWatch, anyone?

Apple patents turns iPad into virtual CAD toolbox

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple Tuesday was granted a patent on a way to return some of the simplicity of traditional drafting and design to the rather complex process of Computer-Aided Design, also known as CAD. Entitled 'Virtual drafting tools,' Apple outlines how a multitouch interface - such as the iPad's - can make more intuitive tasks like drawing a straight line.

To revive the traditional drafting interface, the 2010 patent application approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the multitouch interface uses tools such as rulers and protractors...

Apple researching combining mouse and trackpad into one ‘motion touch’ control device

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 11, 2013

How do you get the speed of a computer mouse and the fine control of a trackpad? Apple's answer is to combine the two motion sensors into one device and wrap it all into a patent filed and published Thursday.

The patent application, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is entitled 'Hybrid Inertial and Touch Sensing Input Device'. The 2012 filing outlines a type of motion-sensing traffic cop which determines whether inertia (mouse) or touch (trackpad) should control your iDevice's cursor...

Apple asks ITC for stay on sales ban affecting older iOS devices

Cody Lee ∙ July 10, 2013

Apple has asked the United States International Trade Commission (or ITC) to stay a ban on sales of older iPhone and iPads while a court considers an appeal. The company filed a motion on Monday arguing that the ban, which is the result of a Samsung patent infringement complaint, will 'sweep away an entire segment of Apple's products...'