« July 2012 |
Main
| September 2012 »

On May 5, 2010 Apple filed for a logo titled "Made for iPhone" which contained a small image of an iPhone graphic along with the verbiage "Made for iPhone." Little did we know that shortly after Apple's filing, Samsung and Acer formally filed an application of opposition to the Canadian IP Office.
Continue reading "Samsung Continues to Legally Challenge iPhone Logo TM" »

In Mid-June Microsoft surprised the market with their re-entry into the tablet and ePen business to compete with Apple. The difference this time around is that Microsoft wants to attack Apple directly on this front while still having their long standing PC partners join them. Well, HP and Dell aren't too crazy about Microsoft entering the hardware side of the business and they're taking action.
Continue reading "HP and Others Give Microsoft's Surface Tablet the Boot" »

Alcatel-Lucent subsidiary Multimedia Patent Trust has sued many consumer electronics companies and broadcasters over the years including Microsoft, Dell, LG, TiVo, Canon and yes Apple. In this latest patent infringement filing, Multimedia Patent Trust (MPT) focuses their entire case against Apple on three counts stemming from a single patent regarding video compression used in Apple's QuickTime. The law suit has been filed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, a law firm which has represented Motorola against Apple in the past and who is known to be close to Google.
Continue reading "Subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent Sues Apple over QuickTime & iDevices" »

Although it's another slow summer day on Apple's patent front, the US Patent & Trademark Office published did publish several patent applications of Apple's – and two of them are worth noting. The first relates to adressee based message prioritization for Apple Mail and the second relates to revelations about one of Apple's industrial design processing secrets.
Continue reading "One of Apple's Industrial Design Secrets is Revealed in Patent" »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 56 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. One of the key patents that were found within this group relates to Apple's future iWallet. It's a patent that happened to sneak through the patent application process in 2009 by not being listed as an Apple assigned patent. This newly granted patent reveals Apple's virtual equivalent of a credit card swipe on an iDevice GUI. The iWallet is going to be a major iPhone application in the future and it's one that Apple is meticulously designing. The iWallet could very well end up being one of the most important apps of the decade.
Continue reading "iWallet: Apple Intros Virtual Equivalent of a Credit Card Swipe" »

The first patents to be granted to Apple after the jury handed them a victory over Samsung last Friday, are yet more iPhone related patents to strengthen their already lethal portfolio. The first granted patent is a key one relating to editing on iDevices including the iPhone. Another granted patent supports one of the very patents that were used in the Apple v. Samsung trial. Amongst the other iPhone related patent wins today is a partial GUI design.
Continue reading "Apple Wins Key iPhone Patent Relating to Editing & More" »

Some stories are just too incredible to believe and yet they are. You could shake your head in disbelief, laugh with tears running down your face and yet the fact is, the story really happened. Well, the following case that you're about to read is an official complaint filed in Sacramento by Amanda U. Ajuluchuku on August 23, 2012 against Apple. Ms. Ajuluchuku is seeking damages for ten million dollars for a host of claims which include being assaulted at an Apple Store. Due to the civil rights nature of this case, Patently Apple presents the full complaint without commentary or opinion. Report Updated Aug. 28, 2012
Continue reading "Civil Rights Case: Lady with Blue Dress on Sues Apple for Ten Million" »

A Taiwan report out this morning shows us a little of how their media is taking the Apple v. Samsung verdict that was handed down on Friday. The final outcome of the case, they state, is expected to have a ripple effect on the smartphone market. Some local analysts see Apple's triumph over Samsung as delivering a fatal blow to the Android camp.
Continue reading "Taiwan's Take on Apple's Victory over Samsung" »

After just three days, the jury in the Apple v. Samsung patent-infringement trial tells the judge it has reached a decision. The jury had to come to a unanimous verdict. Jurors were given a 109-page document with instructions about the case. The jury has ruled that Samsung Violated Apple Patents. Apple sued Samsung last year for copying the essential features of its iPad and iPhone. Today's verdict tells us that patents do in fact matter. It's certainly a great day for innovators: Congratulations Apple! August 25:
Report Updated with Key Patent Links and more
Continue reading "The Jury Rules: Samsung Violated Apple's Patents" »

Surprise, surprise, Hon Hai has filed a patent application relating to a new iPod nano wrist watch band with storage areas for earphones and a battery. Whether the design was created for Apple or to be marketed by a yet unnamed distributor or themselves is unknown at this time.
Continue reading "Hon Hai (Foxconn) Invents iPod nano Wrist Watch Band" »

A new report out Taiwan this morning states that Apple will continue its dominance in the worldwide tablet computer market with its iPad, but that other firms making tablets powered by Google Inc.'s Android system might pick up sales in the 7-inch segment. Yet even with a pick-up in sales in 7 and 10" tablets, the report continues to show us that the current block of Android OEM's will still be eating the iPad's market crumbs for some time to come.
Continue reading "Android Tablet Makers Stuck Eating Apple's iPad Market Crumbs" »

Some weeks there just isn't a wining patent declared by a rocking TKO. This week is such a case but that doesn't mean that that there weren't a series of solid inventions, because there were. A series of patent applications came to light today relating to improvements in the works for iDevice haptics, Apple's iSight camera, flash memory and accessibility for the hearing impaired. More times than not it's the simple utility patents like these that end up being implemented by Apple.
Continue reading "Apple Files New Patents Relating to Haptics, Thunderbolt, iSight and Improved Accessibility for the Hearing Impaired " »

A new report out of Taipei today reports that Bank of America Merrill Lynch stated on Wednesday that Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. may produce fewer units of Apple Inc.'s next-generation iPhone than expected in the coming months because of supply constraints faced by the device's display. This Report was Updated Aug. 23, 2012
Continue reading "Merrill Lynch: Hon Hai may Produce Fewer Next-Gen iPhone's than Expected in the Coming Months" »

Tony Scott was behind many great Hollywood films that entertained me over the years and I was very sad to hear of his passing this past Sunday. If anyone would have tried to sell coffee mugs with Steve Jobs' image on it less than 48 hours after his death I would have been outraged. If Apple would have tried to sell a bundle of Steve Jobs' keynotes in that same time frame I would have flipped. To me, the fact that iTunes is now promoting Tony Scott films at this time, is distasteful. The man isn't even buried yet. There'll be a time to celebrate Anthony David Scott's life, but this is a form of exploitation and I'm greatly disappointed in Apple for their move. Don't blame the studios. Apple could have said no at the timing of this promotion and didn't. As a fan, my heartfelt condolences go out to the Scott Family.
Continue reading "Promoting Tony Scott Films on iTunes 48 hours after his Death: Really?" »

Earlier this month, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller took the stand in their ongoing case with Samsung. During his testimony, he revealed that before exploring a smartphone, Apple actually considered inventing a car. While that seemed like an off-the-wall piece of testimony at the time, a newly granted patent revealed today by the U.S. Patent Office confirms that Apple was indeed working on a car and an inter-mesh communications system that would work with vehicles in general back in 2003. Our report points you to that granted patent and another one relating to iPhone interactive gaming.
Continue reading "Apple Wins Patents for an Inter-Mesh Communication System for Vehicles & iPhone Interactive Gaming" »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-nine newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our first granted patent report of the day we cover Apple's granted patents for Podcasting and three iPod designs. Apple added their podcast-subscription feature in June 2005. In 2006, Steve Jobs demonstrated creating a podcast during his Macworld Conference & Expos keynote using the new podcast studio feature in GarageBand 3. In 2005, the New Oxford American Dictionary declared Podcasting the 'Word of the Year.'
Continue reading "Apple Finally Wins Patent for Podcasting " »

The US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark application relating to their figurative, non-textual "iPhoto for iOS" logo. The trademark filing 85700010 includes the International Classification 9 which covers computer software used for image editing and image processing. Apple had also filed their trademark in China and Europe this past week which added International Classifications 41 and 42 which covers photography and digital imaging services in addition to a fascinating entry that might be an eye opener. In fact, there's specific verbiage in one of the trademark classifications that would strongly suggest that Apple may be secretly working on a service to challenge Google's Picasa and similar types of online services like Flickr. I don't know about you, but such a service offering for iOS users would only make sense. Note: This report was updated on August 19, 2012
Continue reading "Is Apple Thinking of Challenging Google's Picasa?" »

EPL Holdings, a Delaware company run out of Palo Alto has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. The official filing with the court states that Enounce had entered into a non-disclosure agreement with Apple back in early 2002. The actual offer for their technology came in the following month at a low ball price that Enounce refused. EPL claims that Apple went ahead anyways and used the technology used in QuickTime and the iPhone.
Continue reading "Apple Sued over Playback Technology used in QuickTime and iPhone" »

Reading China's tech news lately has been like watching a wacked out Ping-Pong tournament when it comes to attacking Apple directly and indirectly. The smart device revolution brought on by Apple's iPhone and continuing with their iPad is pumping up China's local OEMs to take aim at Apple on every front. The saying goes: If you can't beat them at first, then try, try again. Well, it's pretty obvious that the Chinese take that saying to heart – if not to extremes. The "shanzai" or "copycat," culture is thriving in China even to the point of trying to copy the cool style of the late, great, Steve Jobs. No kidding!
Continue reading "Apple Must Remain a Moving Target to Win in China" »

On August 16, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a series of video related patent applications from Apple mainly covering iMovie and Final Cut Pro. If you're a video buff, then today is going to be a feast for you. The patent applications cover topics such as live dragging and editing, new novel editing and masking tools and so much more. There's far too much information for us to properly cover in this report and so we've provided you with Apple's patent abstract for each application along with a direct link to each of them so that you could explore them at will. One thing is for sure, Apple's Randy Ubillos and his engineer teams have definitely been burning the midnight oil so as to keep Apple's video applications on the cutting edge.
Continue reading "Huge Patent Day for Apple's iMovie and Final Cut Pro Apps" »

In June, Macworld reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed in an email to an Apple customer that the company is working on "something really great" to address the professional market. Earlier this week we posted a report on Apple's surprising patent win for a radical radial menus patent that illustrated the new system would apply to the iMac, Mac Pro and yes, the iPad. Today, the U.S. Patent Office published a jaw dropping Apple patent that reveals that they're working on a new advanced graphics app to take on Adobe's Photoshop and Illustrator. The new app will also be aimed at Macs and the iPad. The system is being designed to work with both the mouse and touchscreen gestures. Apple's two detailed patent applications cover the basics of the graphics app and their new simplified object layering system. It's clear that Tim Cook's email message about something really great is on the way for the professional market is starting to really take shape indeed.
Continue reading "Boom! Apple Invents Next-Gen Virtual Drawing App to Take on Adobe's Photoshop & Illustrator " »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-nine newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our fourth granted patent report of the day we focus on two patents relating to Apple's original 2007 multi-touch technology. The patents go into great detail about display technology that even includes In-Plane Switching that is used in Apple's current iMac. Just last week Apple gained another granted patent related to multi-touch technology – and so it's beginning to appear that the hard work that Apple's engineers put into the revolutionary iPhone and iDevice revolution in general are beginning to pay off. And finally, our report closes out with a listing of seventeen utility patents covering such things as the face recognition feature found on iDevice cameras, the button assembly for the iPhone as well as the electronic sighting compass for iDevices and much more. All in all, today has been a granted patent bonanza for Apple.
Continue reading "Apple Granted Two Original 2007 Multi-Touch Display Patents" »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-nine newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we focus entirely on Apple's first granted patent for Radial Menus. The first two patent filings were discovered by Patently Apple, not in the US, but rather in filings found in Europe and Korea. Even the granted patent published today in the US was a surprise, as it too came out of nowhere. In this granted patent, Apple notes that radial menus will be both for the desktop and portable devices. Radial menus will work with a mouse and/or touch commands on multi-touch displays using a finger, stylus and/or iPen. The timing of this granted patent comes on the heels of Google's radial patent filing coming to light in this current quarter. Obviously there's a race to get radial menus on portables and beyond – and Apple's in-depth trio of patents now give them a definite edge.
Continue reading "Apple Granted a Major Radial Menus Patent for iOS and OS X" »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-nine newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. One of the key patents published today covers a major patent win for Apple TV, the set-top-box. Apple's patent clearly shows that Apple TV was and/or is going to work with cable TV and provide PVR like features. Whether Apple TV will ever make the leap to being a fully advanced iOS based Smart TV is unknown at this time – though it certainly would be a way to get under Samsung's skin. That's reason alone for Apple to move into this market. Only time will tell. Read this report's important update that just came in (August 15, 2012 at 8:22PM).
Continue reading "Apple Wins Major Apple TV Patent Relating to Cable TV" »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-nine newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. This particular report covers two of Apple's granted patents relating to their Smart Cover and a possible future multi-button mouse. To close out our report we cover Apple's trademark filing for their new iPhoto logo that's specific to iOS.
Continue reading "Apple Granted Smart Cover and Multi-Button Mouse Patents" »

On Friday, Taiwan's Economics Minister Shih Yen-shiang urged the public to show more support for HTC Corp., a Taiwanese smartphone maker. The Minister stated that the "Public should cherish our own brand." The remarks came after HTC released their revenue report amid fierce competition from Apple and Samsung. The Taiwanese government is now working on providing a better environment and offering assistance to Taiwan's smartphone makers, including integrating industry supply chains, launching an application processor development project and more, according to the Minister. In October of 2011, the Premier of Taiwan took a swipe at Apple due to their patent victory for slide and lock. Considering the tremendous amount of business that Apple is giving to Taiwan's Hon Hai (Foxconn), is it right for their Government to be playing up nationalistic sentiments against Apple? Is it right to be championing HTC over Hon Hai when Apple and HTC are still battling it out in court? You don't hear the Canadian Government whining to their citizenry that they should be supporting their cherished RIM over their US competitors Apple and Google, do you? I don't know, maybe it's just me – but I think that Taiwan's mouthy government should be a little more grateful for the business that North American companies are giving them instead of whining in public to stir up nationalism. It's a bad idea and worst yet, bad policy. What are your thoughts on this?
Continue reading "Taiwan Official Urges Support for HTC over Apple & Samsung" »

According to a BBC report published this morning, five people have gone on trial in China for illegal organ trading and intentional injury after a student sold his kidney to buy an iPad and iPhone. The defendants include the surgeon who removed the kidney from the 17-year-old in the central province of Hunan. They face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The teenager, who suffered renal failure after the transplant, was said to be too sick to attend the hearing. Official figures from the health ministry show that about 1.5 million people need transplants, but only 10,000 are performed annually. In October 2010, Steve Jobs joined California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in signing legislation to establish the U.S.’s first nationwide kidney donor registry.
Continue reading "China's 'Kidney for an iPad' Trial Begins" »

According to a study from the Boston University School of Law, patent litigation caused by "non-practicing entities" (NPEs), better known as "patent trolls," cost U.S. software and hardware companies US$29 billion in 2011. NPEs are individuals and firms that own patents but do not directly use their patented technology to produce goods or services and instead assert their patent rights against companies that do. Patent litigation costs to technology companies from NPE lawsuits have dramatically risen from $6.7 billion in 2005 to $12.6 billion in 2008 and more than $29.2 billion in 2011. The report goes on to state that "The rapid growth and high cost of NPE litigation documented here should set off an alarm warning to policy makers…" Well, it certainly has in Korea. A new report published today indicates that the domestic smartphone industry has indeed pressed the panic button to set off the alarm regarding the damage that patent trolls are exacting on their industry.
Continue reading "Patent Trolls have the Smartphone Industry in a State of Emergency" »

To date, Apple has been using Imagination Technologies GPU for iDevices, but that could all change in 2013 if ARM's new Mali GPU delivers on its promises of delivering greater power and a revolutionary new data compression technology called ASTC (Adaptive Scalable Texture Compression). Steve Steele, product manager of ARM's media processing division stated that "From the consumer's point of view it's going to mean better battery life and higher image quality." He went on to state that you'll "be able to download games faster, and it's also been designed to be more efficient at uncompressing data once it's on your device." Yet as tempting as it may be for Apple to make the switch, one has to remember that Apple is still a shareholder in Imagination Technologies that currently develops the PowerVR GPU that's powering today's iPad. Logic says that Apple will pass on this next generation GPU from ARM, but technology in the fast lane could sometimes throw in a surprise of two along the way – and so it's not a sure thing until it is. Only time will tell.
Continue reading "Will Apple Consider ARM's New Mali GPU in 2013?" »

According to a new Asian report that was published this morning, Intel will be testing out a new wireless charging technology that they developed for their 2H 2013 Ultrabook and smartphone architectures. Intel's wireless charging solution uses an Ultrabook as the power source paired with related software and a transmitter to wirelessly charge a smartphone. According to Intel's data, the solution will feature lower power consumption and does not require the phone to be put in a very specific position. Sources state that the new technology may only appear in a few models initially. It's unknown at this time if Apple will work with Intel to bring this technology to MacBooks and the iPhone in the future. To date, Apple patents have shown that they've toyed with their own Inductive charging technologies over the years and even have two granted patents on this front (see one and two). A final solution has yet to emerge.
Continue reading "Select 2013 Ultrabooks to Incorporate Intel's Wireless Charging" »

On August 09, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals that they're still tinkering with their 2012 granted patent relating to head tracking which was originally published in 2009. Apple has added more strength to their patent claims relating to "methods" while dramatically reducing their patent claims relating to "systems." If anything, it shows that Apple is still actively refining their technology which is part of a larger project relating to a future 3D GUI for the desktop and portables. This is a timely revelation considering that a new patent from RIM illustrates their desire to bring a 3D UI to their future lineup of BlackBerry devices. Yes, the race is on to bring 3D head tracking user interfaces to market and it'll be interesting to see if Apple will decide to lead or follow on this front.
Continue reading "Apple Interestingly Updates Head Tracking Patent & More " »

According to a new study from Taipei China, Apple only accounts for 14.4% market share in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain while Samsung's market share has grown to 45% in these same markets. This pushes Android's market share to a leading 65%. The study states that this is due to the fact that Apple haven't been working closely with Europe-based telecommunication firms. Apple's CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that sales in Europe were flat during their last conference call. Apple and Samsung are currently in a court battle that some have dubbed the patent trial of the century. The stakes are very high for both companies. While Apple's iPhone is currently losing the battle in Europe to Samsung, the tide could very easily turn if Apple's next generation iPhone hits a homerun with exciting new features. The new iPhone is due out next month.
Continue reading "Apple's iPhone losing the Battle in Europe to Samsung" »

While some of China's market analysts have speculated that Apple could experience a decrease in iPad 3 sales in this current quarter, researcher Analysys International out of Beijing is claiming that Apple's iPad's market share in China's tablet PC sector climbed to over 72.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012. The figure marked a 20.06-percent increase from the first quarter of 2012, said the report. Meanwhile, Samsung's tablet PC saw a 7.69-percent year-on-year decrease in its market share, which stood at 3.59 percent in the second quarter of 2012.
Continue reading "Apple's iPad Takes Over 70% of China's Tablet PC Sales" »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 38 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. Earlier today we posted three reports respectively titled Apple Wins Patent for Never Released Lifestyle Companion App, Smack! Apple Granted another Classic Touch & Gesture Patent and Apple is Granted an iWallet Related Patent for Shopping. In our last report of the day we briefly cover Apple's patents relating to dynamic compass calibration for iDevices, touch screen settings for camera adjustments and present you with more than a dozen utility patents.
Continue reading "Apple Chalks Up another 38 Granted Patents " »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a newly granted patent for Apple Inc. today that relates to their future iWallet in respect to shopping and shopping lists. Apple's published patents relating to their future iWallet began to roll out in 2010. At this year's World Wide Developer Conference, Scott Forstall, Apple's Senior VP of iPhone Software, revealed Passbook which was basically a sneak peek at an iWallet component. Apple's recent acquisition of AuthenTec falls into line with their iWallet project, as Apple had published an earlier patent covering a future iPhone with fingerprint scanning capabilities. Apple had previously acquired another fingerprint scanning patent back in 2010 which further strengthens this project. At this very moment nobody knows when Apple will officially launch their full iWallet application, but logic strongly suggests that it could be in the 2013/2014 timeline.
Continue reading "Apple is Granted an iWallet Related Patent for Shopping " »

When I first began covering Apple's patents, this one was one of the first to really excite the Mac Community, even though the negative naysayers were pounding the table saying that Apple would never, ever again touch a tablet after the failed Newton. Well, we all know how wrong they were, again. Today, Apple has been granted yet another classic touch and gesture patent to add to their already impressive roster of key touch related patents. Apple has smacked another touch related patent out of the park and delivered more grief for their copycat competitors. Apple's patent covers their classic pinch and zoom feature along with and a number of virtual controls such as a scroll wheel, floating controls, page-turns for eBooks and more.
Continue reading "Smack! Apple Granted another Classic Touch & Gesture Patent" »

The late CEO Steve Jobs and in his inner circle began dreaming up their iLife series of applications for the Mac back in 1998. The first app was iMovie which actually debuted in 1999. In 2003 the first iteration of the iLife Series debuted. In 2007 Apple began to pursue a lifestyle companion application but it was never released. Instead, Apple chose to work on the Nike + iPod application to bolster the iPod. The lifestyle companion system was designed to coordinate a user's fitness, nutrition, and medical experiences. Considering that the Nike + iPod hasn't really advanced much over recent years, you have to wonder if Apple will consider releasing this application in the future now that the Patent Office has granted them a patent for it. To close out our report, we cover Apple's dual design patent wins for their sixth generation iPod nano.
Continue reading "Apple Wins Patent for Never Released Lifestyle Companion App" »

Speculation from a Taipei based analyst this morning states that Apple is likely to cut its orders for their iPad in an attempt to avoid an oversupply of the tablet computer and adjust its panel supplier mix. "The growth momentum of worldwide tablet PCs has actually become weaker this year, partially due to market saturation," said Charles Chou, a senior industry analyst at the government-sponsored Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute. The analyst also stated that Apple is facing market share erosion by some 'white-label' vendors. Yet in July, Tim Cook reminded analysts that they had just resolved an iPad trademark issue in China and that sales for the last quarter didn't benefit from the new iPad in the June quarter in Mainland China. So in context, the imaginary argument that analysts are seeing "market erosion" isn't justified. Yet the speculation continued in a report out of Korea that the gross demand for display panels for the new iPad may decrease from Q3. So are these analysts seeing something that we're not?
Continue reading "Asian Speculation see's Demand for the new iPad Decreasing in Q3" »

Apple has come under renewed fire in China for not abiding by the country's consumer protection laws, after a local court accepted the first lawsuit filed by users against its after-sales services. The Lixia District People's Court in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, confirmed it had received a petition from an iPod user claiming the US tech giant violated his consumer rights by refusing to update the warranty after repairing two devices he had bought. The court will hear the case on Sept 14, Liu Ke, the court's public relations officer, told China Daily on Friday. The Vice-Chairman of China's consumers' association stated that "In certain countries such as Japan and Australia, Apple adopted unique rules to bring the company in line with local laws and regulations. Apparently they have double standards."
Continue reading "Apple Going to Court in China for Warranty Violation" »

A Class Action has been filed against Apple for Defective MacBook Logic Boards. The case was filed by Omar Rosales in the Southern District of Texas. The Class action lists eight counts against Apple with three of them being Fraud under Texas Common Law, Breach of Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose and Breach of Implied Warranty of Merchantability. The filing lists a great number of complaints and several of them are listed in our report.
Continue reading "Class Action Filed Against Apple for Defective MacBook Logic Boards" »