Patently Apple

Apple's U.S. Trademark for Magic Mouse Revealed

 

On October 30, 2009, the US Patent and Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark application for Magic Mouse under application 77852610. Apple has filed their trademark under the sole International Classification 009: computer mice. Apple asserts a claim of priority based on Trinidad and Tobago application number 41113 filed 06/25/2009.

Future Apple iPod Touch to Have Ejectable Component Assembly

  
On October 29, 2009, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the likely next chapters for Apple's iPod Touch Media Players.  Apple's patent focuses on adding a new ejectable component assembly to couple removable modules. The removable modules may include, for example, integrated circuit cards (ICCs), chip cards, memory cards, flash memory cards, microprocessor cards, smart cards, such as subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the removable module may contain electronic circuitry from which the electronic device may read data and/or to which the device may write data. Apple's iPhone already has this feature as presented in the report.  

Apple's Magic Mouse Fulfills A 2008 Patent. So What's Next?

 

When Apple launched their new iMac line-up for the Christmas Season last Tuesday, I was certainly pleased to see that their higher end iMac's are now earmarked to sport Intel's i5 and i7 Nehalem processors by November. Equally fun was the news that Apple's iMacs would have LED backlighting, something that was forecasted in a March 2009 patent report. Upon closer scrutiny of Apple's new line-up, it is now clear that Apple's new multi-touch mouse, rebranded as the Magic Mouse, was equally forecasted in yet another patent report posted in June 2008 which was appropriately titled "Apple's Mighty Mouse to Incorporate Touch Pad." In that patent, Apple pointed to several advantages of a multi-touch mouse: One being that "it requires no obvious button to actuate a GUI movement. Buttons break the surface of the housing and are therefore less aesthetically pleasing." Secondly, the patent stated that "the user can manipulate his or her finger side to side for horizontal scrolling."  Yet according to that same patent, Apple's new mouse may still have more Magic Tricks up its sleeve for the future.

 

Apple May Repurpose Bluetooth Headset into Next Gen iPod Shuffle

 

Apple may have dropped their Bluetooth headset in March, but according to a patent application revealed today, they may have done so in an attempt to actually reinvent or repurpose the design and technology into a next generation iPod Shuffle. Apple clarifies their intent in the conclusion of their patent by stating: "Thus it is seen that a wireless headset with integrated media player and/or recorder has been provided." We know that Apple's iPhone 3.0 supports A2DP Stereo Bluetooth connectivity and so this type of unit was bound to resurface in one way or another. The new unit is shown to offer an easy to use USB connector for recharging, a mini LCD screen to view basic iTune information and includes an integrated earbud with options of expanding that to a full stereo headset.

 

Apple Wins Major Patents for Final Cut Pro, GarageBand, OS X, More

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of six newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The notables within this group include patents for Final Cut Pro, GarageBand and the OS X layout engine. Other interesting patents cover a flash memory system that relates to Apple's iPhone and iPod touch and finally one relating to enhancing Intel x86 instruction sets.