Hasta La Gadget!

Steve Jobs points to the audience as he announces the software development kit for iPhone app programmers in a March 2008 event. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Apple’s legal team has fired back at a patent-owning firm that was threatening to sue iPhone app programmers over usage of in-app payment technology.

Apple stated in no uncertain terms that it planned to protect Apple developers.

“Apple is undisputedly licensed to these patent and the Apple App Makers are protected by that license,” wrote Bruce Sewell, Apple’s general counsel, in a response to Lodsys (.pdf) sent Monday. “Apple intends to share this letter and the information set out herein with its App Makers and is fully prepared to defend Apple’s license rights.”

The patent firm Lodsys on May 13 sent letters to several iOS app programmers, claiming that it owned a patent related to the usage of an “upgrade” button, allowing customers to upgrade from a free version of an app to a paid version, or to make purchases within apps. The letter demanded that programmers pay a licensing fee for the patent, or face legal action from Lodsys.

In the technology industry, large companies are already tangled in legal disputes over patents on technologies they claim to have invented or pioneered. For instance, Nokia filed suit against Apple in 2009 for patent infringement, Apple filed a patent lawsuit against HTC in 2010, and Microsoft has gone after Google’s partners offering Android-powered products.

However, with the case of Lodsys, it was odd to see a patent firm shaking down smaller companies for using technologies provided by a larger company.

Apple’s letter said that the technology that Lodsys claims it patented — an interface that enables interactions with a user to elicit feedback — requires the use of APIs provided by Apple to the app programmer. Therefore, because Apple owns a license for Lodsys’ patents, they extend to programmers that use Apple’s technologies, too.

Dave Castelnuovo, creator of the popular iPhone game Pocket God, was one of the first programmers to receive Lodsys’ letter. His lawyer David Alberti told Wired.com that Lodsys’ claims made against app developers seemed like a “very far stretch,” because the patents in question seemed to relate to feedback systems on hardware, such as a fax machine, and not technology in a pure software environment.

Lodsys owner Mark Small, who sent the initial letter to app developers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pocket God maker Castelnuovo said he was happy to see Apple respond very quickly and publicly to Lodsys.

“It shows that Apple cares about its developers and they are willing to stick up for them when something like this occurs,” Castelnuovo told Wired.com.

James Thomson, programmer of the pCalc scientific calculator app for iPhone, was one of the first to receive Lodsys’ letter. He told Wired.com he was glad Apple was getting involved, but the fight is not over yet.

“I’m just relieved to hear that Apple’s got our backs,” Thomson said. “Of course it’s not over until Lodsys withdraws their claims, but this is a big step. I will sleep a lot better tonight, that’s for certain!”

See Also:

• Samsung Ready to Battle Apple in Patent War
• Apple to Samsung: Stop Stealing Our Ideas

Apple has responded to developers targeted by Lodsys, a patent holding firm that accused iOS devs of infringing on its intellectual property covering in-app upgrade purchases. In a letter from Apple dated today, the company claims that Lodsys’s accusations are baseless, and explains that devs, or “App Makers,” are “entitled to use this technology free from any infringement claims by Lodsys,” because Apple has already licensed the technology on their behalf. Apple’s response is firm, and as expected, the company is in full support of developers. Jump past the break for the full letter from Apple legal.

Continue reading Apple responds to Lodsys infringement accusations, says developers are not responsible

Apple responds to Lodsys infringement accusations, says developers are not responsible originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen panorama add-ons for the iPhone before, but Kogeto’s offering is quite a bit more pocketable than other crowd-funded solutions. The Kogeto Dot snaps onto an iPhone 4 in your choice of pastel colors, and catches 360-degree video when placed face down. It’s got an accompanying iOS app that will un-distort the video for sharing, or even broadcast it on the net in real time. We got to check out a prototype, and though there’s still some residual distortion at this point in time, we’re assured that it’ll all get straightened out if and when the project meets its funding goal. Interestingly (and annoyingly), this implementation requires your iPhone be held perpendicular rather than upright, making previewing a capture virtually impossible until after you’ve stopped the recording, which seems unnatural to us. Combine that with a minimum Kickstarter pledge of $98 to secure one of your own, and suddenly the less-portable and lower-degree alternatives start sounding a little more attractive. If you’re still interested, hit the source link below and get in on the action. Promo video after the break.

Continue reading Kogeto Dot brings bite-size panoramic video recording to iPhone 4 (hands-on)

Kogeto Dot brings bite-size panoramic video recording to iPhone 4 (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DigiTimes has been canvassing its manufacturing industry sources again, and today it’s managed to extract some intel regarding Apple’s typically secretive supply chain. Steve Jobs’ team are said to have purchased between 200 and 300 glass-cutting machines, specifically in order to use them to slice up curved glass display covers for the iPhone 5. This move has apparently been in an effort to accelerate production, with glass makers reportedly showing a reluctance to buy the machinery themselves due to its prohibitive cost. Lest you think this sense of urgency might accelerate the iPhone 5 from its earlier-rumored September launch, DigiTimes also reports that yields of curved glass are not yet good enough to start using said fancy machines. So the iPhone may be headed for the same curvacious look as we’ve already seen on Dell’s Venue and HTC’s Sensation (or maybe even the concavity of the Nexus S), but as is Apple’s wont, it looks like that will be done with a tailor-made, custom solution. At least those Cupertino designers have a couple of generations of curved iPod nano screens under their belt, giving them a good idea of how to handle the atypical glass frontage. Now if we could just have a good idea of when this phone will actually be on sale…

iPhone 5 may feature curved glass screen, continue iPod nano legacy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 02:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 19th marked the 10th anniversary of Apple opening its first retail store. We expected some form of celebration, and initially it looked like a product launch may happen, but it turned out to be a revamp of the stores. Staff were told they couldn’t take holiday, night shifts were planned for this weekend, and […]