Patently Apple

Apple Files for "iPad mini" Trademark in the US

On October 23, Apple introduced the iPad mini to the world. The new iPad mini is a completely new iPad design that is 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the third generation iPad. Two days after its official launch, Apple filed for the iPad mini trademark in Europe and Canada. Today, the US Patent & Trademark Office officially published Apple's US filing for the trademark under application 85780375.

Apple Awarded Registered Trademark for "Apple Configurator"

On September 19, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office officially published Apple's Registered Trademark Certificate for "Apple Configurator." Apple's trademark, which was originally filed for in March, covers Apple's free App which was designed to make it easy for anyone to mass configure and deploy iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in a school, business, or institution.

Apple Awarded Registered TM Certificate for "Mission Control"

On November 14, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office officially published Apple's Registered Trademark Certificate for "Mission Control." Apple originally filed for the trademark back in April 2011. Mission Control is an App that's found in Apple's OS X Mountain Lion operating system that brings together Exposé, Spaces, Dashboard, and full-screen apps. Mission Control gives a user a bird's-eye view of everything that's running on their system.

Apple Granted Registered Trademark for Apple Configurator Icon

On November 5, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a belated second Registered Trademark of Apple's under number 4,214,031 for the Apple Configurator icon. We posted a report concerning Apple's first registered trademark for Apple Configurator on September twenty-ninth which covered the marketing brand/name only. Why there was a delay in publishing the second trademark for the accompanying icon by UPSTO is unknown at this time.

Apple Files for Passbook Icon Trademark, Samsung Loses Apple's Rechargeable Battery Business & the Yacht that Steve Jobs Built Launches

Three interesting stories caught our eye this morning and our cover graphic spells them out for you. The last entry in this morning's report is a simple observation on Microsoft's Windows 8 with its new Metro user interface that debuted last week. It's not as scary as it was made out to be, even though it debuted so close to Halloween. 

Apple Files for "iPad mini" Trademark in Europe

On October 25, 2012 the European Patent Office published Apple's trademark filing for "iPad mini," dated October 23, 2012, the very day that Apple introduced it. Apple filed their trademark under three International Classes which covers all of the basics that you'd expect in a trademark filing for the iPad mini, such as computers, notepads, e-book readers, computer software, telecommunications, an MP3 player and the all-important one: proprietary computer software in the field of natural language and voice-print recognition that will naturally support Siri. Yet as usual, Apple legal had to go overboard and cover nonsensical areas, just for a laugh at Happy Hour, I suppose. The iPad mini is now legally covered for possible future uses as a fire extinguisher, a sock heater, and yes, even as an egg-candler. Apple legal even thought of the iPad mini being used as a future "voting machine." Why not? I was hoping for a deep fryer but I was out of luck. If you're a glutton for punishment, then check out the full International Class details laid out in our report.

The Beatles' Apple Corps Logo is now a Registered TM of Apple

On 5 February 2007, Apple Inc. and Apple Corps announced a settlement of their trademark dispute under which Apple Inc. would own all of the trademarks related to "Apple" and would license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for their continued use. The settlement ended the ongoing trademark lawsuit between the companies, with each party bearing its own legal costs, and Apple Inc. would continue using its name and logos on iTunes. The settlement included terms that were confidential, although newspaper accounts at the time stated that Apple Computer was buying out Apple Corps' trademark rights for a total of $500 million U.S. The Canadian IP Office disclosed that the famed Beatles recording label logo is now a registered trademark of Apple Inc. 

Apple Fulfills Patent with the iMac's New Fusion Drive

Three years ago we called for an ultrathin iMac and today Apple delivered it. The new thinner iMac design was mainly accomplished by eliminating the optical drive as they did with their MacBook Air and other MacBooks over time. Yet to be fair to Apple's industrial design team lead by the fanatical Sir Jony Ive, they sweated over the details to refine the LCD process and even used a new welding process called "Friction Stir Welding" in order to get the thinner design just right. And in the heart of this new beast lies an all-new hybrid hard drive that Apple calls a Fusion Drive; a drive that fulfills a 2011 patent application.  

Apple Files Opposition to Samsung Motion for a New Trial While Apple Drops Java on Security Grounds and Much More

The biggest stories of the morning concern Apple's new court filing countering Samsung's motion for a new trial and that Apple has dropped Java due to a severe security warning. As you could see by our cover graphic, there's more news worth checking out in our report. 

Apple Seeks Passbook TM, Acquires HTML5 Firm "Particle"

It appears that Apple's trademark filing for "Passbook" fell through the cracks over at the US Patent & Trademark Office this past summer. Apple filed for their trademark on June twenty-seventh and it only came to light this morning. In other news, Apple has acquired the hip San Francisco HTML5 firm "Particle."  

Apple Files for "Guided Access" TM & Xbox Music Debuts

Apple has filed for the trademark "Guided Access in Hong Kong China. The trademark represents a new iOS 6 feature that builds on Apple's Accessibility feature set. The new feature provides users with the ability to confine touch input in certain parts of the screen. In other news today, Microsoft's Xbox Music will debut today, well ahead of their Windows 8 launch.  

Nokia & Amazon Duke it Out with Apple over App Store TM

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office's database was updated yesterday and behold, we see that both Nokia and Amazon are continuing their formal opposition to Apple's App Store trademark filing. Our report fills you in on the status of this case.  

Apple Granted More LTE Patents & Picks up a Design win for their Classic iTunes Logo Crediting the Late Steve Jobs

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of nineteen newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we briefly cover two of Apple's granted patents relating to 4G LTE. These are part of the 434 LTE patents that have been amassed by Apple to fully support the iPhone-5 and to fend off potential lawsuits from competitors. On another note, Apple has been granted a design patent for their classic iTunes Logo that lists Steve Jobs as one of the inventors.

SK Telecom Gains Unprecedented iPhone 5 Feature While Apple Files for Passbook Trademark and Much More

According to news from Korea, the South Korean SK Telecom has been granted an unprecedented iPhone 5 feature and we'll tell you what it is. In other news, Apple filed for the new 'Passbook' trademark in Europe and Taiwan's Hon Hai acquires some interesting patents. Report Updated October 04, 2012

Samsung to use Apple's WebKit for Future Mobile Browser

Earlier this month, the Korean Times reported that Samsung officials had stated that the patent dispute with rival Apple has strengthened their innovation drive. Specifically, Yoon Boo-keun, the president of Samsung's consumer electronics division stated to media sources that "Becoming a software-driven company is the main initiative. We will raise the quality of our products and services by pressing further for software, design and solutions." Yet where they're beginning this great initiative is really hilarious if not ironic.