Patently Apple

A New Location Services based Class Action Lawsuit has been Filed against Apple. It's Time to Open up the Debate Wide Open

 
Cynthia O'Flaherty has filed a class action complaint against Apple and is seeking the court in Illinois to grant it class action status. The case rests on the plaintiff's view of Apple's patent 20110051665 titled "Location Histories for Location Aware Devices." The complaint uses incendiary wording and/or phrasing such as "Apple collected the private location information covertly, surreptitiously and in violation of law, "or "secretly-gathered private information" and even "stalking." This is not the first lawsuit against Apple on this front and it's likely not to be the last. In fact, there have been recent cases filed against Apple in Florida and Alabama. While our report presents the O'Flaherty case in depth, we also try to balance it with a look into the issue in general. Is Apple really the bogeyman or has conspiratorial hysteria been overblown? Are we the ignorant public or has the industry, Apple included, been too slow at providing us with real answers or solutions? At the end of the day, it's not a black and white issue and it's important for everyone to join in the conversation so that the public and the industry can try to find a middle ground between progress and privacy.  

Apple Gains iPod Touch & Nano Design Wins in China

 
As part of Apple's lawsuit against Samsung we learned that Apple had entered evidence in their complaint involving patent 7,812,828 along with trademarked designs of the iPhone and a series of icons. Clearly design patents carry weight with the courts in respect to protecting Apple's look and feel of a product. Today, Patently Apple has learned that Apple has gained registered status for their iPod Touch and iPod nano designs in China.  

Apple Wins Patents for the iMac, Magnetic Detents & Even the Touch Controls that Debuted with Apple's Now Defunct "Cube" Desktop System

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of thirteen newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. Several notables within this group include a couple of MacBook Air design patents, a couple of iMac related patents and even a patent for the touch controls that Apple first released with their now defunct "Cube" desktop. Lastly, Apple has won an interesting patent related to Magnetic Detents which could be found in several current products.  

Apple Acquires Paging Patent to Assist Enterprise & Medical Complexes

 
Patently Apple has recently discovered a document that confirms that Apple has in fact acquired a new paging reception related patent. The new technology could allow Apple to add premium upsell services for iOS devices in the future that will enable them to further challenge the likes of RIM who currently offers such services. Apple's newly acquired patent will allow Apple to push further into both the enterprise and medical complex spaces which will provide devices like the iPhone and iPad with yet greater value.