Rumors say that Apple is making an iWatch with a curved glass display, and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office just granted a patent for such a device. The patent in question was filed by Apple back in August 2011, and it describes a “touch-sensitive” bracelet that wraps around the human wrist and locks into place.
Apple calls it a “wearable video device” with a flexible display that “conforms to an appendage of the end-user.” The watch would be used to communicate with another device, like an iPhone.
Sony is currently experimenting with a tablet-style PlayStation controller, which according to Slashgear would allow for “dynamic 3D motion control and virtual buttons for gaming and other purposes.” They’re even trying to patent it.
It looks like cool hardware, similar to the capabilities of the Wii U console, which was, of course, Nintendo’s answer to the tablet craze that Apple started back in 2010.
So far, so good. Want to take a guess, though, what Sony wants to call their iPad clone?
Last summer, Apple won the biggest patent lawsuit in history against Samsung. After a long and tedious hearing, a California court ruled that Samsung had infringed on seven of Apple’s design patents. The jury for the trial decided that Samsung had willfully infringed five of the patents, which basically means that Samsung knew what it was doing when it tried to steal Apple’s mojo.
Samsung challenged the verdict, and Judge Lucy Koh has now ruled that Apple’s patents weren’t willfully infringed upon. This will save Samsung from having to pay Apple up to triple in damages on top of the $1+ billion it already owes.
This doesn’t mean that the case is over. There are still plenty of appeals to be made, and “Apple will presumably move at some point for an award of ongoing royalties for future use of its patents by Samsung,” according to FOSS Patents.
Samsung has gone before the Seoul Central District Court to ask to see Apple’s iOS source code. The goal of seeing the source code is to confirm whether Apple’s iOS 6 infringes on any of Samsung’s software patents. Yes, this is the same Samsung that Apple won $1 billion+ in damages against for patent infringement in U.S. court last year.
Since the innards of iOS are full of valuable company secrets, Apple has of course declined Samsung’s request, “calling it ridiculous.”
Back in early December, Apple and Google joined forces to purchase a patent trove from Kodak, the once-reigning photography king. Kodak’s collection includes 1,100 imaging patents that can be used to diffuse litigation between big companies in the tech industry.
To keep bidding wars from escalating, Apple and Google teamed up for the purchase. After filing for bankruptcy, Kodak said that its patent trove was worth $2 billion, but the U.S. court approved a $527 million price tag instead.
What the companies involved with this deal plan to do with the acquired patents remains to be seen.
Apple and Samsung have been raging a legal war against each other across the globe. While Apple won a $1 billion lawsuit against Samsung in the U.S. earlier this year, the two giants have exchanged blows in Europe as well, but neither side has come out on top yet.
However, a new report claims that Samsung might be facing a serious blow from the European commission that is seeking to impose some huge fines on Samsung for trying to get Apple products banned in Europe.
Back in August, Google-owned Motorola Mobility sued Apple for violating 7 of its software patents. Motorola accused Apple of infringing on patents relating to everything from location-based reminders to email notifications.
Now The International Trade Commission (ITC) has thrown out Motorola’s claim that the iPhone violates a patent on “a sensor that prevents accidental hang-ups,” according to Bloomberg. Motorola’s proximity sensor patent has been deemed invalid by the ITC for the second time, and it looks like Motorola won’t have much luck at appealing the decision.
It’s one of the most iconic products of all time, and now, Apple holds a design patent for the original 2007 iPhone, with the US Patent and Trademark Office granting Cupertino a design patent for the smartphone that started it all.
The invenotors of the design are credited as Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive, Bartley Andre, Daniel Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Richard Howarth, Duncan Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Rohrbach, Douglas Satzger, Calvin Seid, Christopher Stringer, Eugene Whang, and Rico Zorkendorfer.
Apple and Google joining forces? Welcome to the Cold War (patent pending).
Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in January, and since then the photography pioneer has been trying to sell off its many patents. Over the summer it was reported that Apple and Google were leading separate groups in a bidding war for the valuable portfolio. Now a new report says that Apple and Google have teamed up to place a $500 million bid.
Last month, HTC and Apple reached a cross-licensing settlement that would put a 10-year kibosh on any litigation between the two. While HTC’s Peter Chou was happy enough to call the settlement “A Good Ending,” Samsung saw it as an opportunity to have injunction proceedings against them thrown out.
![Apple and Google Join Forces For $500 Million Bid On Kodak Patents [Report]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/5284_kodakfilm.jpg "Kodak film")
