Patent

Judge voids $625 million verdict against Apple in VirnetX patent spat

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 1, 2016

In February 2016, a federal jury ordered that Apple pay $625 million to VirnetX Holding Corp after being found guilty of willfully infringing on technologies found in VirnetX's patents related to virtual private networking protocols. Friday, the judge voided that ruling after determining that the case should be revisited, CNBC reports. VirnetX alleges that its patented technology is used in FaceTime and iMessage on the iPhone, iPad and Mac.

New Apple invention would employ multi-axis haptic feedback based on device orientation

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 19, 2016

A new patent filing by Apple, which surfaced Tuesday in the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) database, provides yet another indication that Apple's engineers continue work on perfecting haptic feedback in its products. According to the filing, the company has invented a multi-axis haptic feedback solution capable of producing vibrations in different directions, based on whether a user holds the device in portrait or landscape orientation.

Foldable Samsung tablet/smartphone hybrid aka “smartlet” appears in patent filing

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 4, 2016

Last month, Bloomberg ran a high-profile story about Samsung's alleged initiative, code-named Project Valley, that would bring a pair of fully bendable Galaxy phones to market in early-2017.

Subsequent supply chain reports have since backed the story partially as it became public knowledge that Samsung has allocated north of $7 billion into boosting production of flexible OLED panels.

As Patently Apple noted today, a new patent application sheds more light on the South Korean conglomerate's interest in creating a technology that would allow a smartphone or tablet to fold in half when not in use.

New invention paves the way for iPhones that’d optimize UI for left-handed users

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 28, 2016

The Apple Watch is designed for both left and right-handed use via a switch that prompts it to optimize the watchOS user interface for left-handed users. A similar feature could be headed to future iPhones as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) a few days ago awarded the firm a patent for “Electronic Devices with Hand Detection Circuitry” that might let a future iPhone detect how it's being held and tweak the Home screen and other aspects of the iOS user interface for left-handed users.

Beijing court orders iPhone 6 sales ban over patent infringement, Apple to appeal ruling

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Apple just hit yet another roadblock in China with news that the Beijing Intellectual Property Office (BJIPO) has ordered the company to halt sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on the grounds that the Apple handset copied the design of the 100C smartphone, which is being produced by Shenzhen Baili, one of China's phone vendors.

Apple has confirmed that it will challenge the sales ban by appealing to the Beijing Higher People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Court.

Magic Leap has been awarded design patent for a Star Wars-like VR headset

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 8, 2016

Augmented reality startup Magic Leap, which created the Leap Motion Controller for the Mac, has been awarded a design patent today by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a virtual reality headset which looks like a Star Wars helmet or something straight out of the Robocop movies. According to Andy Fouché, Magic Leap's Vice President of Public Relations, the patent does not represent the finished product.

Apple’s just been granted a patent for a MacBook with embedded cellular connectivity

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 26, 2016

The United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) today granted Apple a brand new patent which seems to address a longstanding complaint among MacBook owners: the machine's lack of an embedded cellular connectivity.

Titled “Electronic device with dual clutch barrel cavity antennas” and originally filed for in the second quarter of 2015, the invention describes using additional wireless circuitry for cellular data via cavity antenna structures that are not present on current MacBooks.

Apple granted a patent that’d allow advanced car control via your iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 24, 2016

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Tuesday granted Apple a patent that could be a perfect fit for Project Titan, its not-so-secretive electric car project.

The proposed invention outlines an advanced vehicle access control system that would permit an iPhone to do things like open your car doors, start or shut off the engine for specific time frames and for specific duration of time, adjust and activate personalized car settings and more.

“The feature set described in this invention went far beyond anything that could have been conceived working with CarPlay,” explains Patently Apple, which first caught wind of the granted patent.

VoIP-Pal slaps Apple with $2.8 billion lawsuit over patent used in FaceTime and iMessage

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 23, 2017

Voice over IP (VoIP), a technology for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over the Internet, is at the heart of an unbelievable $2.8 billion patent infringement lawsuit that VoIP-Pal, a Bellevue-based company, filed this morning against the iPhone maker.

“We are confident the current good will on both sides will result in a favorable outcome for all parties involved,” said VoIP-Pal CEO Emil Malak in a prepared statement.

Apple’s vision of a streamlined clarification process for when Auto-Correction makes mistakes

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

There probably isn't a single iPhone user on this planet that hasn't experienced the “joys” of the Auto-Correction feature interfering with their messaging. Auto-Correction mistakes often produce hilarious miscommunications (there's a website for that).

Whether or not you're a heavy typist, you'll appreciate that Apple's been researching ways to improve Auto-Correction, according to a patent application that surfaced yesterday in the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) database.

Cryptically titled “Device, method and graphical user interface for visible and interactive corrected content,” it envisions highlighting auto-corrected words in an iMessage for the recipient and a built-in Messages feature for streamlining the process of clarifying what the sender meant.

Apple patents hybrid wireless/wired earbuds for iPhone that are magnetically detachable

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 1, 2016

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on Tuesday awarded Apple a patent for magnetically detachable earbuds for an iPhone that could work in both wired and wireless mode. The invention is of particular interest in light of the rumor that the next iPhone will ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack in favor of Lightning-enabled and wireless Bluetooth headphones.

The proposed device would use two cables, one to connect the headphones together in wireless mode (like the connecting cable found on the Beats Solo2 wireless headphones) and the other to connect the headphones to a host device in wired mode.

Apple’s $120 million patent victory against Samsung overturned

Cody Lee ∙ February 26, 2016

An appeals court on Friday ruled that Samsung won’t have to pay Apple $119.6 million for infringing its patents, reports Bloomberg. The court found two of Apple's patents, including one for its slide-to-unlock feature, to be invalid and a third wasn’t infringed.

Today's ruling overturns a verdict reached by a California jury in May 2014, which found Samsung devices to infringe on Apple's patents. It also upholds a decision to make Apple pay Samsung $158,400 in damages for infringing on its video compression patent.