MicroUnity Systems Engineering, Inc. of Santa Clara, California has launched a patent infringement law suit against 22 of the major players in the telecom industry from AT&T, Motorola, Nokia Samsung, Sprint, and Texas Instruments – to major handset makers such as Apple, Google, HTC Corporation, Palm, LG Electronics and others. MicroUnityis claiming that the defendants have infringed on eleven patents that are listed in this report. MicroUnity basically wants the court to adjudge that there was an infringement of their patents. If the Court decides there was an infringement of their patents, then they seek damages and enhanced damages, though at this time no amount is listed in the documents. And lastly, they want the Court to enforce these Companies from using their patents. MicroUnitiy specifically points to Apple's iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch.
In June of 2009 Apple tried to bury the fact that they had begun preliminary R&D on integrating Pico Projectors into future iPhones and/or other Apple media players - but Patently Apple broke the news. Nine months later a new mysterious projection system patent has emerged. After careful review, we're now able to see that Apple is taking their pico projector research and development to the next level. Apple is now exploring multiple avenues of incorporating pico projectors into their hardware which includes a new and very intriguing application.
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 7 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The notables within this group include technologies behind Apple's Macbook housing and Aperture's picture straightening tool. The way that Apple and Google have been snarling at each other lately, you have to wonder if Apple would use this patent to go after Google's Picasa. They wouldn't be that stupid – would they? - Nah.
On March 11, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published two very interesting patents that illustrate Apple's R&D teams are rapidly advancing the notion of an audio user interface for Apple's media players and iPhone. The technology as discussed many times in the past, will allow motorists to control their iPod content via voice commands. Voice commands will naturally extend to controlling your content while your media player is sitting in a dock in your office or TV room. Today's second patent, which we'll begin with, presents us with yet another twist to the design of a new portable universal docking station.
In another excellent report filed by Philip Elmer-DeWitt of Fortune earlier this week about Apple's high tech war against handset makers supposedly infringing on Apple's multi-touch IP, he quotes Oppenheimer's Yair Reiner stating that "Our checks also suggest that these warning shots are meaningfully disrupting the development roadmaps for would-be iPhone killers. Rival software and hardware teams are going back to the drawing board to look for work-arounds. Lawyers are redoubling efforts to gauge potential defensive and offensive responses. And strategy teams are working to chart OS strategies that are better hedged." Well, Apple isn't standing still either boys-and-girls and yesterday the USPTO published yet another round of new highly sophisticated multi-touch panel patents that will reverberate in the war rooms of Apple's competitors around the globe. Gentlemen, behold - this is only the beginning of the patent wars.
On March 11, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published 28 patent applications from Apple and in this report we point to one of the patents behind Apple's iPad display technology, a new patent revealing a new audio plug for the iPhone and iPod touch that is positioned on the right side of the unit which may suggest that the audio had to be moved to make way for a new component such as a video calling camera perhaps? And lastly, Apple reveals their secret sauce behind the iPod Touch assembly – which I can't wait to try at home – ha!
On March 11, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's media players used in the gym or private workouts. Apple's latest patent is all about the user creating their own custom workout templates so that they could kick start their workouts faster than before. No more starting your workout from scratch. I enjoy using the Nike + iPod system that provides me with all the stats that I need. In the future, I'll be able to set custom templates for other types of workouts be it for using a rowing machine, weight lifting or other type of exercise. Apple indicates that voice commands will be available in the future which is interesting. Apple also revisits the "virtual competitor" which was first covered in September 2009. This will allow users to compete on a treadmill against friends working out at another gym across town – to help with the monotony of routine workouts.
On March 10, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark application for "New Music Tuesday" under application 77950076. Apple has filed their trademark under two International Classes covering retail store services, podcasts and e-publications in the field of entertainment. If you don't subscribe to Apple's iTunes music email service, then you could always check out what's new at the iTunes Store at their "New Music Tuesday" website, here. The question becomes, why did it take Apple almost seven years to file for this trademark?
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 6 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today which includes a patent for their Universal Dock along with 3 industrial designs covering the MacBook Air, iPod Shuffle and USB Power Adapter. Additionally, two documents confirm that Apple has abandoned their Time Tunnel trademark - which shouldn't have any material effect on their product Time Machine.
The USPTO was down for most of last Thursday, which made it very difficult to access Apple's latest patent applications. One of the reports that we were able to post was in regards to Apple TV's remote controller. Yet hidden within the patents that we weren't able to access - was a little gold mine. After careful scrutiny of this patent over the weekend, let me tell you, Apple has some great ideas in mind for their Remote iApp. Better yet - Apple's patent presents us with a unique overview of a future version of Apple TV that we perhaps hoped for from the very beginning and disappointingly never received. All we can hope for now is that Apple delivers this next generation Apple TV for at least Christmas this year. C'mon Apple – make it happen!
In October 2009, Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Prepares to Rock the Market with Hardware Subsidizing Program" and when All Things Digital decided to post my report - it took off like a bat out of hell. The report was clearly about subsidizing hardware in exchange for having users watch advertisements on their system which would happen to include some interaction with a few ads so that the advertisers would help to flip the hardware bill. Fair enough. Well, some noses got out of joint with that news – In fact, Robert X. Cringely took on Apple's proposal - calling it a Patently Crazy idea. That report seemed to ignite some kind of negative undercurrent or cult that culminated in the recent "Cracked" report titled "5 Reasons You Should Be Scared of Apple" that has since racked up more than 1.13 million hits! Hmm, how a simple, logical idea about subsidization turned into Apple being an evil empire is beyond me. So I could only imagine how the crazies will react to today's patent report that carries along on that very same theme of free television programming coming to computers and portable devices that will – yes, enforce ad participation. Yet for those of you who understand how the real world works - today's patent could actually shed some light on what Steve Jobs could have discussed with the networks when proposing Apple's new 99 cent content deal. The patent in fact points to a multiple tiered ad content system that could be set to a sliding price scale. And lastly – the patent indirectly provides us with some insight into how Apple could utilize their recently acquired Quattro Wireless ad service in the future.
Tim Cook recently spoke at the Goldman Sachs' annual tech conference in San Francisco and supposedly stated that "Apple TV is a hobby. But "because our gut says there's something there we're continuing to invest in those," reported the Wall Street Journal's "Digit" blog. Seth Weintraub's 9 to 5 Mac went on record with Tim Cook stating that Apple had "No interest in going into the TV market. But still think there's something there." Yes, Apple continues to invest in the area of TV and our TV patent section is trying to document what we can on this very important future product. And while Apple continues to deny that they're working on a next generation television, you'd have to be an idiot reporter for even expecting Apple to say: Oh, yes, we're about to reinvent television and here are the juicy details. Ha! If you know Apple, then you know not to ask questions about "future products "and expect a reply. During every financial conference of Apple's, we continually hear analysts trying to get Tim Cook or Peter Oppenheimer to confess or havea slip of the tongue in the hopes of getting a killer headline. It's not going to happen. With that said, a very simple Apple patent was published today by the USPTO that insists that the company's Apple TV remote is to work with a clearly defined television – beyond what we know as Apple TV - the set top box style unit.
