Mar 29
The patent office publishes oodles of Apple patent applications each week. It also grants a ton of them, allowing Apple to protect its IP against competitors. Whether it actually uses any of that IP in its products is another matter …
Mar 28
Google has made a statement on open source and patents, publicly making an Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge and promising not to go after open source software on the basis of patents. This follows Microsoft’s launch of its Patent Tracker tool earlier today, which is a step towards patent transparency, something that has a solid place in the OPN pledge Google has taken.
Says Google: “We pledge not to sue any user, distributor or developer of open-source software on specified patents, unless first attacked.” It has kicked the pledge off with 10 patents related to MapReduce, a technology for large data processing with open source variants in common use.
Over time, the search engine giant plans to extend the pledge to additional patents, but regardless says that the OPN (or a similar alternative) is something it encourages other companies to take as well. By doing so, the companies will be promoting a few advantages and helping to reduce the number of patent-related lawsuits.
The advantages of taking such a pledge, says Google, include transparency, making it easier for developers and such to assertain patent rights. Breadth is another listed advantage, eliminating the limitations a specific open source license/project would present. The OPN pledge is also said to be a form of defensive protection, with Google only using it for defensive purposes. And finally, durability, with the pledge being in place for as long as the patent exists.
[via Google Public Policy]
Google takes Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 28
In a world where patent wars are a common staple in the news and courtrooms, many companies are moving towards more transparency, Microsoft being among them. Today the company has rolled out its Patent Tracker tool, which allows anyone to check out which patents the company owns, as well as download a list of them all in CSV format.
With the Patent Tracker Tool, patents can be searched for via patent number, country, title, and by whether it is held by a subsidiary or Microsoft itself. Those needing an offline version or who are more comfortable shifting through Excel than an online tool can download all the information in a spreadsheet here.
This comes a couple days ahead of their originally stated target of April 1, and is being done as an improvement to the patent system, something Microsoft says private companies and the legal system/USPTO should be doing. Such a move in transparency, says the company, is one step towards enhacing competitiveness and fueling growth and job creation.
Microsoft’s Executive VP of Legal & Corporate Affairs Brad Smith said: “Transparency around patent ownership will help prevent gamesmanship by companies that seek to lie in wait and “hold up” companies … transparency is a prerequisite to enforceability of patent licensing pledges, whether to standards bodies or to the world at large. Quite simply, without transparency it is impossible to determine if a company is in fact abiding by those commitments.”
[via TechNet]
Microsoft moves towards greater transparency with Patent Tracker Tool is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 28
This week Apple’s industrial designers and inventors have found their way back into the USPTO with a patent filing for a wrap-around display. This means that you’ll have a device that’s got a display that’s wrapping around its sides rather than just sitting on the front – AMOLED in technology, too. You’ll have brightness and light coming at you from all directions!
What you’re actually looking at here is more of a concept for a future set of possibilities. Patents such as this don’t always have to make it to the market with a fully operational product – you probably wont see an oval-shaped iPhone in the near future. But what we can be excited about is the fact that we’re well on our way to this sort of technology making its way to the public in products that are slightly less wacky – as just part of the full show.
There’s a set of examples that Apple gives with diagrams showing angles at which this transforming display might be implemented. If you’ve got a couple of caps on each end, any number of candybar-shaped modules might be created. As Engadget notes, one of these describes how the caps of each one of these cellphone-like devices could be connected to one another, creating a long snake of devices – or perhaps one massive display.
As for the rest of the mobile universe, we’ve already seen some flexible AMOLED concepts out there in the wild. Samsung in particular has been bringing some odd heat here and there – still not inside a market-ready device, but getting closer every day!
Who do you think will reach the market first, folks? And better yet: do you think there’s really a need for a product with a bendy screen in our modern age?
[via AppleInsider]
Apple patents wrap-around AMOLED display is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 26
LG patents RFID-labelled cookbook, attempts to offer more than just another place to spill sauce
Posted in: Today's Chili 
LG is no stranger to mixing together patents and white goods and this time its trying to bridge the gap between recipes and those all-too-often underwhelming results. One of its patents, granted today, outlines the idea of two RF tags that would offer food information and appliance specs, with a reader located on a terminal (say, an oven) that would attempt to bridge the gap between the two. This (likely wireless) device would then connect to a server, which would return operating details for cooking that specified “food information” on your appliance of choice. LG also hints at the ability of expanding the remit of a book when enough info can’t be given due to the space limitations of the printed word, hopefully offering up some added value to any compatible future cookbooks. Well, you’ve got to try and explain those connected fridge and oven costs somehow, right?
Source: USPTO
Mar 21
Apple Patents iPhone Drop Protection Mechanisms That Are Built Right Into The Device
Posted in: Today's Chili
A new Apple patent filing describes a variety of methods to protect a dropped iPhone during a fall, lessening damage through a number of clever systems. The USPTO filing, spotted by AppleInsider, includes a rotational mechanism to change the orientation of a falling iPhone, for instance, as well as on-device thrusters, and a way to clamp down on inserted cables when a fall is detected.
The patent describes a number of ways Apple might be able to make a device that can change direction mid-flight, which would allow it to put its most impact-resistant surface forward to meet the ground. These include an internal gadget for shifting mass to one end of the iPhone, an actual “thrust mechanism” that could even include a “gas canister,” an air foil that activates in free fall, a way to contract external bits like switches within the case for protection, and a gripping system that can clamp down on charing and headphone cables to ensure those catch the falling phone.
Another aspect of the patent is a sort of on-board black box that would gather and store data about the fall and the impact, which Apple says in the patent would be used by the device manufacturer to help gather info about how devices fall, so that they can use that info in future designs. But of course such an on-board tool could also be used by technicians determining warranty repair status.
This patent contains pretty intense, innovation-heavy tech, a lot of which doesn’t have any real precedence out there on the market yet, so I wouldn’t expect to see it in any shipping devices soon. But it is a good look at how Apple is thinking about common issues such as damage to mobile device from accidental drops. And who knows? One day, this stuff could become actually practical – even positional thrusters built into your iPhone.
Mar 20
Twitter Just Patented Itself
Posted in: Today's Chili
Twitter has finally patented the unique style of communication that its messaging service provides. The patent, issued yesterday, describes a system where users follow each other and messages don’t have specific recipients. More »
Mar 19
Twitter granted patent on itself
Posted in: Today's Chili 
What do Twitter co-founders Jack Dorsey and Christopher “Biz” Stone have in common with Thomas Edison? That’s easy, they’re all patent holders. Issued today, the USPTO’s database details a messaging system where users can follow each other and display messages without a unique recipient. Last time we checked, this is how Twitter works. Officially assigned to the social network, the application was filed in July 2008, listing Dorsey and Stone as the intellectual property’s inventors. Now for those of you thinking that Twitter is gearing up to slap other companies silly with mountains of infringement lawsuits, think again. Around this time last year the company announced its Innovators Patent Agreement, which detailed a contract between the social network and its employees saying that any of their work related patents will be used for defensive purposes only. While this not so angry bird doesn’t seem too eager to attack, it might be a good idea for other companies (especially social networks) using similar technologies to assess their current setup just to be on the safe side.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Via: The Verge
Source: USPTO
Mar 19
The tango between Samsung and LG is starting back up again. LG is accusing Samsung of infringing on one of its eye-tracking patents. Specifically, the dispute deals with Samsung’s “Smart Pause” on the GALAXY S 4 and “Smart Video” on the Optimus G Pro, both of which automatically pause video when your eyes stray away from the screen.
LG claims it applied for the patent in 2009, as well as other eye-tracking patents as far back as 2005. There’s nothing that the company can do right now, but once the GALAXY S 4 officially launches late next month, they’ll be able to investigate and see whether or not Samsung infringed on one of LG’s patents.
Samsung denies any infringing on LG’s patent, and the says that it uses its own technology for “Smart Pause.” LG’s Optimus G Pro was unveiled at Mobile World Congress last month and is expected to release sometime next month in the US, and there’s already an update out for the new phone that enables eye scrolling, similar to Samsung’s “Smart Scroll.”
This isn’t the first time that LG has turned up the heat on the battle between the Optimus G Pro and the GALAXY S 4. Before the GALAXY S 4 launch, LG trolled Samsung in New York City by placing a clever and bold ad directly on top of Samsung’s ad for the new phone, officially mocking the company before the phone has even been unveiled. Of course, this is only the start, so we’re bound to see more skirmishes between the two companies in the near future.
[via The Next Web]
LG accuses Samsung of infringing on eye-tracking patent on GALAXY S 4 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 19
LG suspects Samsung of infringing its eye-tracking patents with the Galaxy S 4
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 isn’t even available yet, but already it’s being eyed for possible patent infringement. According to a report from Korea’s Yonhap News, LG suspects the S 4 might violate eye-tracking patents used in the Optimus G Pro. At the crux of this squabble is Samsung’s Smart Pause feature, which LG finds similar to its Smart Video technology. Chiefly, LG is focusing on a patent it applied for in 2009, though the company also plans to investigate whether Samsung infringed other eye-tracking patents dating back to 2005. So far, of course, Samsung has denied any wrongdoing, saying its eye-tracking tech is implemented differently and is based on proprietary technology. Given that the phone isn’t even out yet, we’ll leave it to LG to do its due diligence before accusing Samsung in court.
Filed under: Cellphones, Samsung, LG
Via: The Verge
Source: Yonhap News Agency
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