Tag: patents

Apple new ‘digital handshake’ will be powered by invisible ink, according to patent

Apple has filed a new patent that will enable the use of next-generation cameras and invisible ink to negotiate digital handshakes.

Snap a picture of a cash register with a barcode and your iDevice will generate a unique ID to pair up. but in order to keep the technology secure, the codes would have to be painted on with “invisible” fluorescent coatings. Similarly to share information between 2 iPhones or iDevices, the screen of one will display the information while the camera from the other will simply click to transfer the info.

While the whole world is looking forward to NFC, you can leave it up to Apple to think of a different standard. Remember the whole world was using regular size sim cards before apple managed to make the Micro-sim a standard.

USPTO (1), USPTO (2)

December 3, 2011
HTC takes aim, sues Apple using x-Motorola Patents

In the wonderful world of manufacturer patent-wars, a new twist has developed today. HTC has sued Apple using newly obtained firepower: nine patents picked up from Google last week. Theses patents have travelled from Palm – to Motorola – Google (who has bought Motorola) , Google transferred these patents to HTC last week, to power the HTC vs Apple suit.

HTC CFO had earlier said that HTC was trying to figure out and resolve problems with Apple. Looks like the sit down with Apple’s nasty lawyers didn’t work out for the Taiwanese Giant.

September 8, 2011
Microsoft Patent Applications Reveal a possible Dual Screen Tablet Future

Microsoft has been playing with the idea of a dual screen tablet for quite some time, remember the courier tablet? This time around MS is teasing the world of tech itself with the Tablet patent that promises a dual screen experience. Microsoft has been talking a lot about Windows 8 and a tablet specific OS.

MS has filed for multiple patents including, Muti-screen dual tap, on-off gesture, Muti Screen Pinch and expand, Muti-screen – Hold – Expand- page flip and radial gestures. Microsoft has not yet been awarded with these patents. But looks like the whole Tablet frenzy has been fueled by the Apple Patent Lawsuits.

August 27, 2011
Apple gets MagSafe patent for iOS based Portable devices

Apple ended the wire plug fury of Laptops, especially Apple laptops with the introduction of the magsafe connector in 2006. The Magsafe connector detaches on being pulled hence keeping the device safe when a clumsy owner trips over the wire.

This is not the case with the current iPhone and iPad connectors, making them vulnerable to damage. With this new patent , Apple hopes to end that war of man vs wire and with wireless syncs just a iOS update away, one can see magsafe power connectors in the next gen iDevices.

[USPTO]

August 18, 2011
Apple vs Samsung – Apple denied a Sped up Suit

In the case of Apple vs Samsung, Samsung was earlier denied the motion to put a stop on sale of Apple products in the US which broke the patents held by Samsung. Apple went on to countersue and asked for a ban on sale of Samsung Products like the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy S2 / S among others. Apple has also asked to see upcoming products from the company to ensure that none of them violate trademark and copyright laws.

Whats more Apple had also asked for the Judge to speed up the hearing and briefing process. The court put Apple down by denying its request to compress the briefing schedule. The reson for denial is stated as “Apple’s knowledge of Samsung’s alleged infringement for more than a year and the fact it engaged in license negotiations with the Korean company during that time.”

[Order (PDF)]

July 14, 2011
Apple Sues Samsung for the Second time , Now in Korea

Apple inc. has filed a suit for the second time, against Samsung for copying the iPhone’s design. The suit claims that the Samsung Galaxy S copies the third-generation iPhone.

“It is no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” an Apple spokesperson said regarding case

The suing war started back in April when Apple sued Samsung claiming it copied “Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products.” Samsung responded just one week later by filing countersuits.

The interesting aspect behind all of this is that Apple is currently Samsung’s largest buyer of LCD components. Go figure !

June 25, 2011
Apple will Pay Nokia $600 Million upfront, and $550 Million Yearly Post That.

According to Deutsche Bank analyst Kai Korschelt, The dying breed Nokia stands to sustain in the market thanks to is greatest rival today – Apple. Apple and Nokia announced early on Tuesday that they had reached an agreement regarding a series of patent disputes filed by each company over the past few years.

Korschelt estimates that Apple will give Nokia a $608 million lump-sum payment up front. post that, Apple will like pay Nokia a 1% royalty on all iPhones sold each quarter as a licensing fee. At the current market sale rate, the fruit company will pay the team at Espoo a whopping $550 Million in yearly licenses.

[toggle title_open=”Close the Release” title_closed=”Read the Nokia release from Tuesday” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Nokia enters into patent license agreement with Apple

Apple payments to Nokia settle all litigation and have positive financial impact

Espoo, Finland – Nokia announced that it has signed a patent license agreement with Apple. The agreement will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies, including the withdrawal by Nokia and Apple of their respective complaints to the US International Trade Commission.

The financial structure of the agreement consists of a one-time payment payable by Apple and on-going royalties to be paid by Apple to Nokia for the term of the agreement. The specific terms of the contract are confidential.

“We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees,” said Stephen Elop, president and chief executive officer of Nokia. “This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”

During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 43 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry’s strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 10,000 patent families. Nokia is a world leader in the development of handheld device and mobile communications technologies, which is also demonstrated by Nokia’s strong patent position.

This agreement is expected to have a positive financial impact on Nokia’s recently revised outlook for the second quarter 2011 of around break-even non-IFRS operating margin for Devices & Services.[/toggle]

June 17, 2011
IBM – Milestones from the last Century
IBM is one of the largest IT companies in the world. Yesterday it turned 100 years old. It has grown from a pre-World War I conglomeration of companies making tabulating machines and time-keeping devices into a globe-spanning technology behemoth that pioneered the development of electronic computers and dominated the mainframe era. The company holds a vast array of patents in a vast number of technologies.

It has crossed many milestones in the last century. Here are a few of them:
- 1889 – The Bundy Manufacturing Co., a time recording equipment maker is founded.
- 1896 – The Tabulating Machine Co., a punched-card, electric tabulating equipment maker is founded
- 1911 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company is founded which merges the Bundy Manufacturing Co., The Tabulating Machine Co., The Computing Scale Company and the International Time Recording Co. It has a total of 1300 employees.
- 1914 – Thomas J. Watson, Sr., joins the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company and ends up as President in 11 months. The company more than doubles its revenues to $9 million in his first four years.
- 1924 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company is formally renamed International Business Machines.
- 1928 – IBM introduces the 80 column punch card which doubles previous capacity and remains a standard for the next 50 years.
- 1933 – IBM enters the typewriter business by acquiring Electromatic Typewriters
- 1944 – IBM introduces the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator or the Mark I, which is the first large scale computer to accomplish operations automatically.
- 1946 – IBM introduces the first commercially availabe machine with electronic arithmatic circuits, the 603 Electronic Multiplier.
- 1952 – Thomas J. Watson, Jr. becomes President of IBM.
- 1957 – IBM introduces FORTRAN, which is used to this day.
- 1964 – IBM bets $5 billion on future trends by introducing the IBM System/360 which used Solid Logic Technology microelectronics.
- 1969 – The first manned mission to the moon included an onboard computer designed at IBM
- 1971 – Frank Cary becomes CEO of IBM and the Floppy disk is also introduced. It becomes a PC data storage standard.
- 1981 – IBM introduces the worlds cheapest and smallest Personal Computer at $1565. It partners with Microsoft to supply the Operating System and allows competitors to buy it for IBM-Compatible clones which paves the way for competitors like Dell and Compaq.
- 1984 – IBM introduces its second generation PC with a 6Mhz Intet 80286
- 1991 – IBM shocks the industry by announcing its first annual loss of $2.82 billion
- 1995 – IBM acquires Lotus Development Corp. and its Notes software making it the worlds largest software company. It also launches the IBM Thinkpad running on an Intel Pentium 133Mhz processor. It is an instant success.
- 1997 – The IBM Deep Blue supercomputer, capable of calculating 200 million chess moves per second, defeats chess Grand Master Garry Kasporov.
- 2005 – IBM sells its PC business to Lenovo to focus on software development.
- 2011 – Watson, the IBM AI, which comprises of 90 IBM 750 servers defeats two Jepordy game show champions in a two match game.
June 17, 2011
Google will acquire Modu patents for $4.9 BN

Whats up with Acquisitions lately, Recent Microsoft-Skype acquisition and now this. Google will acquire all Modu patents from the bankrupt company for a whopping 4.9 Billion US $. The company had planned for major worldwide release of its spectacular transformer phones, that fit the purpose when needed, and had planned for an IPO, but came close to an imminent closure due to lack of funding.

Google’s $4.9 million IP purchase will be used to pay back Modu’s creditors and former Modu employees who are still due wages. What this could entail is freakishly small Android smartphones……hoping anyway.

May 19, 2011