Category archives: patent

 

 

CE-Oh no he didn't!: Tony Fadell calls Honeywell out on patent claims

Read more
 

Smart thermostats might not be the cut-throat world of litigation like, say, mobile phones , but that doesn’t mean the odd feather doesn’t get ruffled from time to time. Nest CEO, Tony Fadell, is understandably protective of his company’s product, so when competitor Honeywell laid a stack of patent infringement claims at his door, unsurprisingly he was none too pleased. How displeased? Well, enough for him to drop this clanger: “Honeywell is worse than a patent troll.” Then going on to quantify with “They’re trying to strangle us, and we’re not going to allow that to happen.” We think that makes his feelings on the matter pretty clear. Well, when you’ve been SVP of Apple’s iPod division, it’s easy to see how patience with such things might wear thin. CE-Oh no he didn’t!: Tony Fadell calls Honeywell out on patent claims originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | The Verge , Nest | Email this | Comments

 

RIM patent application ponders a desk dock for your BlackBerry

Read more
 

It’s that special time of the week when we examine the what-ifs and whys of the patent system . Research in Motion applied for a patent last year to construct a telephone-dock that’ll nestle your BlackBerry when you’re sat in the office. Plonk your device in the carved out slot and it’ll offer up its display and address book for the use of your landline, in essence, a RIM-branded version of the Phone Dock we saw back in 2010. Although this device has the added benefit of being able to hand off your desktop calls to your cell and vice-versa. Now, only the vagaries of the Patent and Trademark Office , Thorsten Heins ‘ management decisions and market forces stand between us and this device appearing in the flesh. RIM patent application ponders a desk dock for your BlackBerry originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | USPTO | Email this | Comments

 

Apple patent app details 'active packaging,' a new level of window shopping

Read more
 

Apple’s generally not one to go overboard with packaging; a simple white box with a few unmistakable logos is just about all it takes to get the point across. But in a future world — one where people have digitized skin and NFC readers in their fingernails — we’ll obviously need something with a bit more… flamboyance. A patent application originally filed on December 12th, 2011 (and just made public today) details an “active electronic media device packaging,” which outlines a method for packaging gizmos in a box that “may include one or more electrical traces in-molded or printed onto the packaging.” It gets a little ambiguous from there, but it sounds as if “one or more wireless power techniques” may be tapped into in order to keep marketing material humming when folks walk by. Speaking of which, the app also explains that POM sensors could be used to “detect various movements events,” potentially activating as prospective consumers stroll by. To reiterate, an application for a patent doesn’t mean that any of this stuff will get close to coming to fruition, but if you’d like to make absolutely sure you don’t live in a world where products call to you from the shelves, we heard Sir Richard Branson can assist . Apple patent app details ‘active packaging,’ a new level of window shopping originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | USPTO | Email this | Comments

 

Microsoft 'Shopping assistant' patent could help you find Elmo, more time for the kids

Read more
 

Microsoft’s just been granted a patent entitled “Shopping assistant.” The claims indicate a system that generates a route to a product based on user-defined criteria (i.e. quickest, cheapest, shortest distance,) it also indicates that certain real-time conditions from participating merchants, such as stock levels, could also help determine the route. Now we’re no CSI, but sounds to us like someone got fed up pounding the Mall looking for the last Buzz Lightyear, and cooked up a system to help save folk from the same pain. The problem is, we’re not sure we like the idea of Windows Shopping all that much either… Microsoft ‘Shopping assistant’ patent could help you find Elmo, more time for the kids originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | USPTO | Email this | Comments

 

RIM's latest patent details automatic volume adjustments based on handset placement

Read more
 

That moment when you physically hurt your ear by mashing your cellphone up against it in a futile bid to hear the person on the other end. That’s the very moment that RIM ‘s gunning to make history with its latest patent, which was filed way back in November of 2007 but just granted today. The BlackBerry-maker’s patent describes an adjustable acoustic speaker output “based on an estimated degree of seal of an ear about a speaker port” — effectively a system where the volume can automatically increase if a handset jostles further from your ear. Not surprisingly, the description details “at least one touch sensor” used for detecting the distance between one’s ear and the device, and the connecting method of adjusting the audio depending on what information the sensor picks up. We’re guessing folks who walk and talk would be keen on taking advantage, but then again, you could just walk around with a Bluetooth headset on. (Keyword being could , not should .) RIM’s latest patent details automatic volume adjustments based on handset placement originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | USPTO | Email this | Comments

 

Apple secures patent on multiple-arm, multiple-frequency antenna design

Read more
 

If not for Leap Day, Apple would’ve seen this one granted a year to the day after it was filed; as it stands, 365 days will just have to do. At any rate, Apple has not only managed to secure a patent this fine morning for an ejectable SIM tray , but also one for an antenna isolation apparatus. In simple(ish) terms, the patent details an antenna structure in a portable electronic device that’s comprised of “first, second, and third resonating elements aligned along a common axis parallel to a ground plane,” with a multiple-arm, multiple-frequency design taking shape. It’s also pretty clear that the intention here is to reduce radio-frequency interference between the antennas — something that’ll prove increasingly important as wave support is added in future iPhones. Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether this patent will allow AT&T-infused iPhone 5 handsets to display ” 7G ” in the indicator bar. Apple secures patent on multiple-arm, multiple-frequency antenna design originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | USPTO | Email this | Comments

 

Apple patents ejectable SIM card tray as nano-SIM battle rages on

Read more
 

We’re guessing it’s just coincidental timing here, but it looks as if Apple has been granted a patent surrounding “ejectable component assemblies” that are designed to be “flush with the external surfaces of the housings of the devices, despite variations in their manufacture.” In other words, a SIM card tray . Granted, there’s no specific verbiage in the independent claims of this one letting us know what exact size we’re talking about, so it’s highly unlikely that a patent application filed in December of 2010 (but granted today) would be directly referencing the nano-SIM war that’s currently ongoing. That said, the description most certainly sounds like the tray that we’ve seen throughout the iPhone’s life cycle, and if Apple’s trying to go small in future handsets, there’s a better than average chance that the ejection mechanism will be all too familiar. Legalese lovers can find the usual load down in the source link. Apple patents ejectable SIM card tray as nano-SIM battle rages on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink Slashgear | USPTO | Email this | Comments

 

HTC partners with Intertrust, buys 20 percent of SyncTV

Read more
 

It’s been a while since we’ve heard the name SyncTV ’round these parts, but perhaps we’ll be seeing a bit more of it now that HTC has a stake in the streaming video company. As part of a deal with Intertrust, HTC has purchased 20 percent of its new partner’s subsidiary. In addition, the Taiwanese manufacturer has licensed a broad portfolio of patents from the Sunnyvale firm, primarily dealing with DRM. Unfortunately we have no specifics about how HTC plans to leverage its new media property, but hopefully they’re working on some fun surprises even as we speak. (Though, most likely, we’re just looking at one more piece of manufacturer-installed bloatware.) Check out the brief, and ultimately not very informative, PR after the break. Continue reading HTC partners with Intertrust, buys 20 percent of SyncTV HTC partners with Intertrust, buys 20 percent of SyncTV originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | | Email this | Comments

 

Apple ready to license its nano-SIM design for free, on one not-so-nano condition

Read more
 

If you hadn’t heard, there are two rival nano-SIM designs going around, but only room for one of them to become an industry standard. Nokia, Motorola and RIM sit together in one corner, and we’ve already covered why they think their design is superior. On the other side of the ring sits Apple, which has its own tactics for bringing ETSI, the European Telecoms Standards Institute, over to its way of thinking. According to a legal letter shown to FOSS Patents by a “perfectly reliable source”, Apple is prepared to license its nano-SIM design royalty-free, so long as it becomes the new standard and all other nano-SIM patent holders reciprocate the gesture. Such a gambit may not appease Cupertino’s rivals and it certainly doesn’t address their technical concerns, but it might show that Apple isn’t looking to profit out of this particular format war and is simply continuing its quest for greater clarity on FRAND licensing terms. Then again, it could all just be lawyer-speak. Apple ready to license its nano-SIM design for free, on one not-so-nano condition originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | FOSS Patents | Email this | Comments

 

Apple patent app portends gadgets made of glass

Read more
 

Thought all those shattered screens and iPhone 4 backplates would push Apple towards making mobile devices machined from aluminum like its laptops and tablets ? Think again, friends, because a newly published patent application from Cupertino indicates the company is considering crafting portable computing devices out of glass. The app claims a “substantially seamless enclosure . . . extruded in its entirety with glass material” so that wireless signals can freely flow to and fro, along with a method for manufacturing such a device. Naturally, this is only an application, and it doesn’t say exactly what kind of super-durable glass would make this a desirous design change. So, who knows if we’ll ever see an all-glass exterior on an iPhone or iPod, but you can get a more in-depth peek at that potential future at the source link below. You can also get a glance at what’ll be Android’s new anthem should that glass-filled future come to pass. Continue reading Apple patent app portends gadgets made of glass Apple patent app portends gadgets made of glass originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | USPTO | Email this | Comments