Earlier this morning a rumor report stated that "Apple announced (internally) that they have put the final touch to the tools that will facilitate a diagnostic." That's interesting, considering that an Apple patent application that was just published last week introduces this diagnostic process in great detail. If you want to know more of the real details, then this is the report to read. According to Apple, the new diagnosing application that will reside on future Apple devices will be ingeniously tied into iTunes where you now get updates and so forth. It'll be an easy way to get simple device problems fixed without having to visit a Genius at the Apple Store. Now that's a great idea.  

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 18 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. Earlier today we covered all of Apple's granted design patents and in our second report we cover three distinct patents. The first covers the iPhone's ambient light sensor, the second covers Apple's "Time Machine," a system back-up application, and the third covers color management in Apple's Emmy winning application called Final Cut Pro.  

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 18 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our first of two reports today we primarily cover Apple's 10 design patent wins that include iOS's user interface, its virtual keyboard and several related icons. Yet the most interesting design win today goes to Apple's original White iPhone 4 that never quite made it to market. It's one of those designs that Steve Jobs just didn't get quite right: An oddity worth noting.  

Research in Motion has filed an official opposing action against Apple's trademark filing for "WebKit" in Canada. The opposing action which was filed earlier this month has been granted an extension of time. Many industry players will be very interested in the outcome of this decsision which could be issued in early 2012.  

    
China's Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 8 newly granted design patents for Apple Inc. late Friday. The designs noted above cover Apple's App Store and FaceTime logos and icons in addition to four retail packaging designs which appear to be new. They could simply be representing simpler redesigned iPod nano cases that would allow the packaging to sit on in-store wall hooks or be for a new miniature iOS device or accessory that's debuting this fall. Time will tell on that front, but for now, the newly granted design patents provide Apple's legal team with more ammunition against present and future copycat designers. 

On August 25, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a wild new concept relating to privacy glasses. While the new specs will be applauded by both professionals and multi-player-gamers alike – gamers may get the added thrill of tapping into the specs' 3D capabilities. While we covered Apple's initial patent regarding privacy-mode viewing in May of this year, it appears as though this project has taken on dramatic new twists. As computer users shift more towards using mobile devices like iPads and MacBooks as their primary devices, and use them more and more in public spaces, privacy-viewing is going to be an essential feature for all future mobile devices. Apple is out to be first and more importantly, the best in delivering this essential new feature and/or accessory. 

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 16 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our second and final granted patent report of the day you'll learn about two key patents that Apple has won. The first patent relates to Apple's spreadsheet app known as "Numbers," which is a component of their iWork Suite – and the second patent relates to Multi-Touch technology that emerged in late 2007, just after the iPhone's debut.   

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 16 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our first granted patent report of the day you'll learn about newly granted patents covering a solar power converter, an iOS camera related patent detailing the rotation of display orientation of a captured image, a third patent covering a 3D Video Viewer that was meant for iMovie and a couple of iPhone docking station patents that illustrate features that have yet to surface.  

 
On August 19, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark application for "Mail" under application 85398447 which was filed on Monday. The distinguishing mark that Apple emphasizes in their application is the phrase "Hello From Cupertino." Apple has also registered a design for the USB Stick relating to OS X Lion's Recovery Drive in China. The same design is also used as a MacBook Air USB software reinstall-drive. 

On August 18, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's "Map + Compass" iOS feature. In the future, you'll be able to capture an intersection on your iPhone's camera and do a search based on that image. If you're looking for the Golden Gate Bridge while visiting San Francisco, Apple's Maps + Compass feature will be able to superimpose the directions from your current location to where you want to go. It will include turn by turn instructions according to Apple's documentation. Apple's hire of founder and CEO of PlaceBase, an advanced digital mapping firm, illustrates just how eager they are in advancing Maps + Compass for iOS devices with augmented reality. In fact, in typical Apple fashion, their new augmented application features will go far beyond just software. Apple has clearly indicated that they're developing a new interactive augmented reality 3D display that is considered to be a smart transparent display. This is what creates Apple's "Magic" product feature declarations when introducing a new product feature that drives the competition and critics crazy. Now you know that it's magic for very sophisticated reasons. It's a perfect blend of advanced hardware and software that few could match. 

Just when it looked like HTC was about to settle their lawsuit with Apple involving some twenty patents, they've decided to do an about face and strike back at Apple by launching a patent infringement case of their own. HTC is seeking relief by requesting the court to grant them triple damages for Apple's willful infringement of three of their patents. HTC believes that almost everything in Apple's product line-up infringes on their patents including the Macbook, iPhone, iPad and more. Either the talks with Apple's legal counsel didn't go very well or they were using their play-nice strategy as a delay tactic for their counter lawsuit. In time we'll know which of the two it was. 

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 20 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our third and final granted patent report of the day we take a look at Apple's yet to be released sporting app that Apple calls a "lifestyle companion" plus we take a look at a camera lens baffle for iOS devices. The last item in this report takes a brief look at a series of patent applications that cover Apple's upcoming iCloud printing services. No, Apple doesn't describe these services as being revolutionary – but rather as being a "cloud computing paradigm." I suspect that CEO Steve Jobs will retain the former for a future press release. What else is new? - ha!