In a second wave of granted patents published by the US Patent and Trademark Office for Apple Inc. today, we see that they've won several key touch related patents including two relating to virtual keyboards. Yet the one patent that stood out above all, in my view, was a patent that secretly buried a future device that Apple has their eye on: a convertible Macbook-to-iPad-like device. This is definitely going to be the killer device category in the coming years and we could only hope that Apple's killer device goes from patent illustration to reality in the not-too-distant future.  

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 17 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The notables within this group include two iPhone related User Interface designs, another for their Mini DisplayPort and others relating to iTunes and their fantastic LED backlit displays. Yet one of the star patents that were granted to Apple today, is definitely one that involves a futuristic 3D stereoscopic display. Is Apple whetting our appetite for a possible future 3DTV system? Here's to hoping that Apple could actually one day deliver something beyond a little black box called Apple TV.  

 
As the old saying goes, sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. Today, Apple was granted design patents for the iPad and iPhone 4. In total, there were 18 patents to report on today and we didn't initially see that Apple's US granted patent graphics actually confirm that there's an extra landscape docking connector in the design. Is this feature coming to the iPad-2 in 2011? We certainly hope so.  

 
Earlier today we posted reports covering Apple's design wins for the iPhone 4 and iPad in addition to covering Multi-Touch and Liquid Metal. The last noteworthy granted patents that were published today by the USPTO involve the technology behind a point-of-sale device and system, (one that is likely used in all Apple Stores) in addition to Apple's iChat and iCal applications.  

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 18 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. Three of today's granted patents related to great design wins for Apple's iPhone 4 and iPad. In this report we cover two additional notables published today that relate to Apple's Multi-Touch Dictionary and their method of spraying Liquid Metal to maintain acceptable internal and external operating temperatures in integrated circuits. Liquid Metal may actually end up in Apple's next iteration of the iMac – and in this report we'll explain why.  

 
November 23, 2010 now marks the date that Apple was granted strategically important industrial design patents for their iPhone 4, iPad and iPhone UI. While some may see the iPhone 4's win as somewhat controversial, the fact remains that it's wonderfully crafted design has no equal amongst the majority of pathetic plastic competitors that stand before it. Hail iPhone. If that news wasn't good enough, we learn that Apple's iPad has been awarded a granted patent which also support's TIME Magazine's choice for invention of the year. And to top off these great wins, Apple has been awarded a patent for the iPhone's general UI overview. What a great day for Apple's VP Industrial Design Jonny Ive and his team, which are affectionately referred to as the Crazy Ones by the Mac community: Congratulations!

 
Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.(GPHI), formerly known as Silicon Graphics Inc., announced in June of this year that had won a significant favorable ruling in its litigation with ATI Technologies and AMD. The company stated at that time that their graphics technology was critically important for a vast array of products including among other things, video game consoles, computers and cell phones. That partial victory has now emboldened GPHI to file a patent infringement lawsuit in the New York Southern District Court against Nintendo, Acer and yes, Apple. The case relates to display systems using floating point rasterization.

 
Three new interesting Apple patent applications were published today at the US Patent & Trademark Office that cover differing research projects that Apple is exploring regarding radio services. Today, only the iPod nano offers smart radio services. The new patents clearly present us with fresh thinking on this subject and it's apparent that Radio Data Systems in the future will also be able to smart tag television channels too. Perhaps more interesting is that Apple is working on ways that will allow an iOS device user in the future to interact with a radio or TV station advertisement that is promoting a game or offering a prize to their listeners. Independent of these first two patents is a great third patent which covers the future ability of pushing the iOS interface to a modern in-vehicle stereo system's user interface. That's likely a feature that we'd all like to see sooner rather than later.  

 
Apple's leading trend in patent based research in 2010 was without a doubt concerning all things related to the use of Near Field Communications or NFC in all of Apple's hardware. The iPhone will no doubt emerge as the most crucial device in Apple's NFC ecosystem because it will serve as your future means of electronic payment. A trend that will allow your future iPhone to act as electronic currency, your credit card, your debit card, your electronic coupon and all the while acting as a means of holding electronic tickets for such things as concerts, air travel, bus or subway. Today, we're one step closer to that reality with the formation of a National Mobile Commerce Network called ISIS, backed by AT&T and Verizon, Apple's current wireless partners. Report Updated.     

 
On this Special iTunes Tuesday, the US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-one newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The notables within this group include the all-important original iPhone design – a design that changed the way all smartphones were and will be designed in the future. Just like how the Beatles changed the music scene forever back in 1964. In addition, Apple was granted patents for their Final Cut Pro's scripting engine and the technology behind Aperture's processing of RAW images. Finally, Apple was granted a major patent for an extra-wide trackpad which has only been partially fulfilled to date.  

 
The race is on. The next wave of tablet computers, smartphones and wrist watches will not only have multitouch interfaces but also multitouch embodiments. A new patent that has surfaced from a mysterious Apple competitor shows us how they're working on devices that will incorporate electrostatic touch sensors right into a device casing to give users access to UI features quicker and easier. Will Apple's competitors get the leap on them or will they have a response inkind in the not-too-distant future? If you want to take a peek at one of the next crazes in smart devices, then you've come to the right place.  

 
On November 12, 2010, the Trademarks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union published Apple's latest trademark application for "Premium Reseller" under application 009512385. Apple has filed their trademark under seven extraordinarily detailed International Classes covering all manner of electronics including computers, smartphones, software, electronic games, downloadable content, telecommunications, printed materials, advertizing, education and technical services – but to mention a few. Yet perhaps the bigger news is that this program appears to have been in the works for some time in the UK. Now that Apple is applying for the official "Premium Reseller" trademark, it may be signaling that this program is about to go Global. Yes, an idea whose time has come.  

 
One of Apple's new patent applications published today covers the iPod touch and iPhone's Ambient Light Sensor (ALS) in context with their built in cameras. Apple's ALS consists of a unique light intensity calculator that computes a measure of the intensity of visible light in the light path. The second patent presented in today's report covers the ability to take your iPhone's favorite radio stations and share them with your in-vehicle radio buttons. The funny thing is however – that there's no FM radio on the iPhone yet. So Apple's patent is giving us a heads-up to what's on the way. My only question is: What's taking so long!  

 
On November 11, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's audio headsets. More specifically, Apple is contemplating the delivery of two new headset designs that would incorporate triple-microphones in the hopes of providing users with a vastly superior noise cancellation solution. One of the new headsets being considered would include a microphone boom – which many users have been hoping for. As Apple's iPhone and iPad 3G products keep on winning new marketshare quarter in and quarter out, every new technology that Apple could bring to the table to improve on quality and innovation is one more headache for Apple's competitors.  

 
Today, the European Patent Office published a series of three Apple patent designs pertaining to, of all things, their In-Store iPad Stand. Apple, or should I really say Steve Jobs, really loves to patent or trademark whatever he can concerning Apple's retail stores. Apple has trademarked their famous glass store architecture, their distinctive retail store layout and I even remember that they patented their famous New York store's glass staircase. Well, that's what makes Apple great in the eyes of their fans: Their fanatical attention to detail!  Report Updated August 24, 2011

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of eight newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today which includes two design patents relating to their Universal Dock. Yet there's no doubt that the key granted patent of the day belongs to one relating to a light sensitive display which one day may be used with iOS devices. The unique aspect of this display rests with its ability to work with laser and/or light pens. While Steve Jobs may have vetoed the classic dumbed-down stylus for iOS devices, he never discounted the future use of advanced light pens. This is Apple's second patent relating to laser pen technology which may very well indicate that this option remains viable for future implementation.  

 
Today's projection-type capacitive touch-panels are becoming increasingly popular with their adoption in devices like Apple's iPhone. Compared to resistive films, however, projection-type designs have been limited in terms of the range of objects that they could sense. But a next generation touch technology may find its way into next generation 2011 iOS devices to change all of that.

 
During a recent Special Event, Apple's CEO Steve Jobs provided us with a peek into four key attributes coming to the next major operating system upgrade due next summer called "Lion." Specifically, Jobs reviewed the fundamentals of Lion's Mac App Store, Launchpad, Full Screen Apps and Mission Control. What Jobs didn't reveal was something called "scrollable menus and toolbars." This possible new OS X Lion feature came to light late last week in a new European patent filing. The new feature is clearly identified as one being designed for both the desktop (OS X) and handheld devices (iOS) – which is what OS X Lion is all about: "The Power of OS X – The Magic of iPad." Apple's Full Screen App feature is about simplifying the desktop and their latest scrollable menus and toolbars concept extends upon that very thinking.  

 
Not all patent reports are as much fun as reading about a new laser tagging game and framework from Apple. Yet sometimes it's as, or even more interesting to read about some of the more hum-drum type of devices and technologies that Apple's engineers are working on in their labs - because they're more likely to get implemented than the flashier patents. One such patent involves new battery techniques. Another is found in this current patent report which presents you with a glimpse at what Apple is doing to thwart the efforts of reverse engineering. Apple is working on several avenues on this front and we'll give you a peek at what they're up to.   

 
I don't know about you, but sometimes the geekiest and littlest of inventions seems to turn my head. One of today's published patent applications is a case in point. It's a simple idea that makes you wonder why no one has ever come up with this before. Apple has figured out a way to use the heat of the CPU of one device to power up another device's battery which is dangerously cold – so that you could power up your dying devices safer and quicker.  

 
A newly published Apple patent presents us with a simple, elegant and convenient method for sharing date securely over mobile devices using … shhh … secret codes. Apple's patent covers sharing information when using social networking applications.  

 
Apple's Game Center was introduced in September in conjunction with their revised iPod touch. In one of today's newly published patent applications, we see that Apple is getting very serious about interactive multiplayer games. In fact, Apple's entire patent discusses the makeup of a cool multiplayer laser tagging game and its related geopositioning technologies. The game uses virtual lasers and could allow for future gaming headsets so that you and your friends could coordinate that killer ambush. Sounds like fun to me.  

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 14 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. Two of these patents cover design wins relating to their fifth generation iPod nano and their third generation iPod shuffle. Beyond their design wins, the notables within this group cover a wide range of technology including a system for replacing corrupted media files on portable devices, methods of controlling LED backlighting, Apple's iTunes Party Shuffle and a security system for portables that may go beyond Apple's current "Find my iPhone" application.