Search Results For: patent.aspx
We reported this past spring about a Microsoft patent that dropped a major hint about the company's smartwatch plans, and mere weeks later, we learned that we could have been seeing the device launch in the summer. Well, as we're now in the midst of pumpkin season, and no Microsoft smartwatch has showed its face (no...
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Apple's Siri virtual assistant has been a well-used iOS feature since its introduction in 2011, and it's seemed inevitable that at some point, the company would port it (ahem - her) on over to Mac OS X. Well, according to a patent filed on Thursday, the future does indeed hold that in store. When it's going to happen...
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Microsoft filed a lawsuit against Samsung in a Manhattan federal court on Friday, as the result of the Korean smartphone maker allegedly failing to keep up its end of a contractual agreement with regards to making royalty payments. Samsung believes that Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia, completed in April, breaches...
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Last month, news emerged that Philips was suing Nintendo over alleged patent infringements in the U.S., and the proverbial chickens are already coming home to roost in other countries. According to Reuters, Philips said it has won a patent suit in the UK (although no details about amounts for compensation have been...
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In what is an incredibly pleasant surprise, Apple and Google released a joint statement stating that the two companies have agreed to drop all of the ongoing patent litigation between them pertaining to smartphones. "Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform," said the...
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Hot on the heels of Google rolling-out a limited batch of Google Glass to the public, Samsung has applied for a patent involving a competing product that it's calling "Earphone". That name highlights the biggest difference between Glass and this, however; rather than act as pair of glasses, Earphone's HUD extends out...
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If the ultra-high resolutions of Apple's "Retina" displays no longer strike you as being impressive, then it's time to shift your attention over to quantum dots. Like all things quantum, we're dealing with incredibly small technology here. Through the use of current-dimming, light shone from an LED and through a...
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Apple's just been granted a rather interesting patent for an "Electronic device display module," which is really a fancy way of describing a clever dual-sided laptop display with a solar panel on back. The front of the lid would house your typical LCD, though the backside would be constructed from electrochromic glass atop photovoltaic cells...
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Just in time for the gift-giving season, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted two patents to Apple - one of which was filed way back in 2008. The first patent is number 8,614,693, titled "Touch and hover signal drift compensation". While its name is pretty self-explanatory, the technology behind...
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This past summer, Google unveiled one of its coolest (and craziest) projects to date. Called "Project Loon", Google hopes that in time, balloons might help bring the Internet to parts of the world where it's just not common, or affordable. These balloons would soar in the sky at twice the altitude of commercial...
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Motorola might not be the dominant force it once was, but it sure does know how to get people talking. Its latest patent does more than enough to make that happen, because it's yet another one of those ideas that seems to be pulled straight out of a 1980's science fiction movie. The patent, titled "Coupling an...
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Beware, wait staffs everywhere--part of your job is about to be obviated by Google. Of course, it’s an annoying part of your job--the one where you have to split up a bill for a group of patrons. Indeed, six Googlers have filed a patent for a “computer-implemented method” (presumably an Android app...
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The last thing that would ever come to mind when thinking of "sports" is "Google", but with a newly-granted patent, it looks as though the company hopes to change that. Filed in March of 2007, Google's patent looks to improve how sports fans deal with team information online. After perusing the entire mind-numbing patent, I can't say with...
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Back in May, the US Patent and Trademark Office approved an interesting Apple patent, one that will allow (if Apple does in fact implement it, which is likely) the iPhone to automatically adjust its volume based on its proximity to your face. There are many reasons why that could prove to be a useful feature, and it's...
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It appears that a recent patent filed by Apple to the United States Patent and Trademark Office has some notebook vendors a little worried, at least according to industry tracking site DigiTimes. That being the case, you might imagine that the patent is quite brilliant - but not so. It is useful, however: a...
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Do you have a fair bit of "sway" among your group of colleagues? Do you have hundreds or even thousands of "followers" on various social networks? Are you the CEO, founder or Senior Editor of your organization? If so, Yahoo! has devised a way to target you with higher-priced advertising. Don't you feel special? Filed...
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Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has approved an Apple patent that enables the utilization of various phone sensors to automatically adjust the output volume and turn on the device's other speakers. Sensors used could include a front-facing infrared sensor (which is already available on most phones to turn...
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Apple has made its bed, and now it’s lying it in. The bed in this case is the decision to compete in the marketplace through litigation, particularly as it pertains to patent violations. Since heading down that path, Apple has certainly won some major victories, but it has also spent a huge amount of resources...
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Battery technology is one of the things holding back further innovation in the mobile space; batteries have certainly improved over the last few years, but they can barely keep pace with the power demands of increasingly power mobile devices. For example, many people can’t make it through a whole day with their...
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Foxconn's parent company Hon Hai has just joined the stable of other companies that have had to sign a patent deal with Microsoft in order to produce and sell Android-based smartphones. Despite the Android OS being a Google product, Microsoft has long convinced those who produce Android devices to pay royalties, as it believes that Google...
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Even though Google is a bastion of open source technologies (a statement some may disagree with), the company holds a king’s ransom in patents, and therefore, the power to sue the bejesus out of other people and companies should it see fit. (The search giant also has the deep pockets necessary to outlast most...
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From the "About Time" files comes a new bill that's aimed at protecting companies from one of their biggest fears: patent trolls. Called the "SHIELD Act of 2013" (no, not this SHIELD, but rather "Saving High-Tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes"), this bill would require those accusing of patent infringement...
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