Search Results for: "apple patents"

Legal
January 30, 2013
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Samsung Apple Patent Dispute

Judge rules Samsung didn’t willfully infringe on Apple patents, denies additional compensation

By on January 30, 2013 at 8:16 AM.

Judge rules Samsung didn’t willfully infringe on Apple patents, denies additional compensation

Losing a $1 billion patent verdict is never fun, but Samsung (005930) can now at least look on the bright side: At least it wasn’t a $1.5 billion verdict. The Verge reports that Judge Lucy Koh, who oversaw this past summer’s Samsung-Apple (AAPL) patent trial, has ruled that Samsung did not willfully infringe on Apple’s patents and that Apple is not owed any additional compensation. In her ruling, Koh said that Apple had failed to prove the “objectively high likelihood that its [Samsung's] actions constituted infringement of a valid patent,” since Samsung showed that it had reason to believe that some of Apple’s patents were invalid and thus couldn’t be used in a suit against the company.

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Legal
July 4, 2012
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U.K. Judge clears HTC phones of infringing on Apple patents

By on July 4, 2012 at 9:50 AM.

U.K. Judge clears HTC phones of infringing on Apple patents

HTC Cleared Apple Patents

U.K. Judge Christopher Floyd ruled on Wednesday that HTC’s phones do not infringe on Apple’s patents, Bloomberg reports. The patents, which include Apple’s well known slide-to-unlock patent, cover various functions involving touchscreens on mobile devices. “Competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours,” Apple told Bloomberg in a statement. An HTC spokesperson told reporters that while HTC is happy with the ruling, “we remain disappointed that Apple continues to favor competition in the courtroom over competition in the marketplace.” More →

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Legal
June 8, 2012
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Samsung sues Australian patent commissioner to force judicial review of Apple patents

By on June 8, 2012 at 7:20 PM.

Samsung sues Australian patent commissioner to force judicial review of Apple patents

Apple Samsung Patent Dispute

Samsung sued the Australian patent commissioner in an Australian Federal Court late last month in an attempt to force a judicial review of four key patents that were “inappropriately” granted to Apple between 2009 and 2010. The South Korean electronics giant has been in an ongoing, high-profile dispute with Apple for nearly a year. Both companies have sought injunctions against the other in an attempt to block device sales, and Samsung now claims the patents in question should not have been granted because they were duplicates of innovation patents that had already been issued by the commissioner under Australia’s patent system, iTnews reported. The company hopes the review will nullify the four patents, which would lead to a full dismissal of Apple’s case against the Galaxy Tab tablet. A hearing is scheduled for June 25th. More →

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Legal
January 5, 2012
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Apple patents suggest Thunderbolt coming to iOS devices

By on January 5, 2012 at 11:20 AM.

Apple patents suggest Thunderbolt coming to iOS devices

The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently published three Thunderbolt related patents that suggest Apple may have plans to build Intel’s Thunderbolt connections into its iOS devices. As Patently Apple points out, Apple may build its own cabling technology that gives it exclusive rights to how Thunderbolt technology might be built into portable devices. Thunderbolt ports would allow for faster data transfers on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, as well as shorter charging times. One of Apple’s more revealing patents describes stronger Thunderbolt cables that could handle greater amounts of data more efficiently and without overheating. Apple says in its patent that the Thunderbolt connections “may be provided between a portable media player and a display, a computer and a portable media player, or between other types of devices.” Apple currently has a number of devices, including displays and computers, with Thunderbolt ports. The company does not yet offer a portable device with the I/O option, however. More →

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Legal
October 14, 2011
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Judge says Samsung tablet infringes Apple patents, taunts Samsung attorney

By on October 14, 2011 at 9:00 AM.

Judge says Samsung tablet infringes Apple patents, taunts Samsung attorney

United States District Judge Lucy Koh on Thursday ruled that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet does infringe on multiple Apple patents. Judge Koh failed to order an injunction preventing the sale of the tablet in the U.S. however, stating that Apple must first establish the validity of the patents in question. According to the judge, Apple may have difficulty doing so, but she did take extra care to point out how similar Samsung’s tablet is to the iPad. Read on for more. More →

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Legal
July 16, 2011
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Judge finds HTC guilty of infringing two Apple patents; could mean trouble for Android [updated]

By on July 16, 2011 at 8:01 AM.

Judge finds HTC guilty of infringing two Apple patents; could mean trouble for Android [updated]

A judge with the U.S. International Trade Commission on Friday ruled that HTC’s Android phones infringe on two of ten Apple patents covered in a complaint filed by the Cupertino-based company last year. “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement at that time. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.” The ITC’s decision is an initial determination however, and it will now need to be reviewed by a six-member Commission. Apple’s complaint in this case covered a total of ten patents, and the two HTC has been determined to be infringing are numbered 5,946,647 and 6,343,263. These patents cover a “system and method for performing an action on a structure in computer-generated data,” and a “real-time signal processing system for serially transmitted data,” respectively. Both patents are said to be hugely important to the core Android OS, and if upheld, the ruling could be incredibly damaging to the rest of Google’s Android partners. Apple is also in the process of suing Motorola and other Android partners for infringing on these and other patents. HTC has already stated that it plans to appeal the ITC’s determination, telling reporters it will “vigorously fight” the ruling. A final determination in the case is due on December 6th, 2011.

UPDATE: HTC has issued a response to the ITC’s judgement, which can now be read below in its entirety. More →

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Rumor
May 12, 2011
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Apple patents keyboard design with air-driven tactile feedback

By on May 12, 2011 at 7:31 PM.

Apple patents keyboard design with air-driven tactile feedback

A patent filing from Apple has sparked rumors of a new, low-profile keyboard. Designed with perforated keys, the input device would provide its end-user with tactile feedback by forcing air through the perforations in the key-tops. According to a report by Patently Apple, the “Advanced Keyboard Feedback System” will pair the punctured keys with a pressure and proximity sensor. When a user’s finger is detected to be just above the key in question, a light stream of air will be emitted to provide pre-press feedback. “As a twist to this patent, Apple goes on to describe that flowing of air could also be implemented in a virtual keyboard, wherein each key location is merely a defined region on a solid surface, where contact with that surface region will generate a defined input signal,” reads the report. The implication there being that Apple could include this technology on touchscreen devices like the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The problem Apple is trying to solve is delivering adequate input-feedback on low-profile keyboards while continuing to make thinner and lighter keyboards — usually, feedback is provided by the downward travel of a depressed key. Apple is known for patenting dozens of technologies that never make it on to mainstream products; it is unclear if this filing falls into that category as well. More →

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Services
July 2, 2009
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New Apple patents include tactile/haptic feedback, fingerprint ID and RFID tag readers

By on July 2, 2009 at 10:00 AM.

New Apple patents include tactile/haptic feedback, fingerprint ID and RFID tag readers

A trio of Apple patent applications unearthed this morning may help shed some light on future features and functionality headed to a new crop of iPhones. Then again we all know how easy it is for patents to lead absolutely nowhere. The first and most notable of the bunch is a haptic feedback concept employing a “grid of piezoelectronic actuators” that combine to form a fully tactile touchscreen. In theory, the device could vibrate these actuators in different combinations and at different frequencies to provide a variety of tactile responses. Interesting as it may be, this isn’t the first apple patent to cover a haptic feedback solution for a touchscreen — another notable concept came in late 2007 and has yet to bear fruit. At the same time, it’s good to see that Apple recognizes the downsides of touchscreen-only devices and is working on creative solutions for the problem. From the application:

However, one of a touchscreen’s biggest advantages (i.e., the ability to utilize the same physical space for different functions) is also one of a touchscreen’s biggest disadvantages. When the user is unable to view the display (because the user is occupied with other tasks), the user can only feel the smooth hard surface of the touchscreen, regardless of the shape, size and location of the virtual buttons and/or other display elements. This makes it difficult for users to find icons, hyperlinks, textboxes or other user-selectable input elements that are being displayed, if any are even being displayed, without looking at the display.

More →

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Legal
March 1, 2013
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Breaking
Apple Samsung Patent Trial Award

Apple award cut to $599 million in Samsung patent case

By on March 1, 2013 at 3:35 PM.

Apple award cut to $599 million in Samsung patent case

Apple’s (AAPL) award from last summer’s landmark patent trial with Samsung (005930) has been reduced to $598.9 million, according to a new report. The Wall Street Journal issued the report on Friday afternoon, and it comes as Apple shares dropped to a new 52-week low during Friday afternoon’s session. Apple was originally awarded more than $1 billion when various Samsung devices were found to infringe on six Apple patents. Judge Lucy Koh, who presided over the trial and cut Apple’s award, plans to schedule a new damages trial once judgements have been issued for all outstanding appeals.

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mobile
October 24, 2012
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Galaxy S III Mini Launch

Dutch court finds Samsung did not infringe Apple’s patents

By on October 24, 2012 at 11:00 AM.

Dutch court finds Samsung did not infringe Apple’s patents

A Dutch court on Wednesday ruled that Samsung’s (005930) products do not infringe upon Apple’s (AAPL) protected IP. The Cupertino-based company alleged in September that Samsung infringed its patents relating to multitouch functions with its Galaxy smartphones, Reuters reported. The court did not rule in the iPhone-maker’s favor, however. Apple has lost similar battles this year against HTC (2498), Samsung and Motorola in both the United Kingdom and Germany. The Dutch court’s ruling comes shortly before the International Trade Commission is set to make a decision on claims that Samsung infringed various Apple patents in the United States.

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Legal
October 8, 2012
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Steve Jobs vowed to patent everything and anything after losing a $100 million iPod lawsuit

By on October 8, 2012 at 2:20 PM.

Steve Jobs vowed to patent everything and anything after losing a $100 million iPod lawsuit

Steve Jobs Apple Patents

Believe it or not, Steve Jobs and Apple (AAPL) weren’t always the schoolyard bullies of patents. In fact, the Cupertino-based company rarely patented any of its technologies prior to the iPhone. But following a $100 million lawsuit from Creative Technology in 2006 targeting its iPod MP3 player, however, Steve Jobs vowed to “patent it all,” according to a report from The New York Times. Jobs and Apple engineers would reportedly hold monthly “invention disclosure sessions,” where the team would describe what projects were being worked on and a lawyer would decide whether or not the projects could be patented. More →

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Business
September 26, 2012
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Samsung calls in the big guns in fight against Apple

By on September 26, 2012 at 10:30 AM.

Samsung calls in the big guns in fight against Apple

Apple Samsung Patent Lawsuit

Following the company’s crushing $1 billion loss in its high-profile patent lawsuit with Apple (AAPL), Samsung (005930) on Wednesday confirmed that it plans to hold high level meetings with Google (GOOG) to discuss the growing threat. “I will meet Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt on Thursday in Seoul,” Samsung mobile boss Shin Jong-kyun told The Korea Times during the Galaxy Note II launch event on Wednesday in South Korea. Shin wouldn’t elaborate but he did add that Samsung will be meeting with major carrier partners in the United States next week as well. While the task at hand — battling Apple in numerous courts around the world and fixing devices that have already been deemed to have infringed on Apple patents — is daunting, Shin noted that business is still booming. “Samsung revised up this year’s total handset sales target to 400 million from our earlier projection of 370 million,” he said. More →

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Business
September 7, 2012
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Apple cuts iPhone 5 component orders from Samsung

By on September 7, 2012 at 7:40 AM.

Apple cuts iPhone 5 component orders from Samsung

Apple Samsung Component Orders

Apple (AAPL) has reportedly cut back its component orders from parts supplier Samsung (005930) for its next-generation iPhone 5, according to multiple news organizations. Citing its own unnamed sources as well as an earlier report from The Korea Economic Daily, Reuters on Thursday evening claimed Apple has reduced orders for Samsung-sourced memory chips and increased orders from rival suppliers including Toshiba, Elpida Memory and SK Hynix. More →

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