Posts Tagged: "Sony"

A couple of these technologies are related to mobile phone use, including a microphone device wearable in a speaker’s ear which does a better job of blocking out distracting noise. Another patent application discusses a program guide for accessing Internet video through a television set. We were also piqued by an innovative way to locate a vehicle lost within a huge parking lot using a mobile electronic device. Internet-enabled television services were also at the heart of some the patents we wanted to share with our readers, including one protecting a method of sharing live streaming content with consumers over the Internet. A few other patents we discuss below protect novel systems for video games, including one gesture-based system which could be incorporated into first-person shooter games. We also explore a patent protecting a method of analyzing athletic performance from a series of photos.

The FTC’s complaint against Sony charges the company with making false claims about the PS Vita’s “cross platform gaming” or “cross-save” feature. Sony claimed, for example, that PS Vita users could pause any PS3 game at any time and continue to play the game on their PS Vita from where they left off. This feature, however, was only available for a few PS3 games, and the pause-and-save capability described in the ads varied significantly from game to game.

The current struggle for video gaming supremacy is being fought among the eighth generation of consoles, featuring the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One and the Nintendo Wii U. The seventh generation finished up much more evenly than the sixth generation, which was dominated by the PS2; the seventh-generation Wii sold about 100 million units, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 each sold around 80 million units. The PS4 shares many of the computing features available through the Xbox One, including a 500GB hard drive, wireless Internet connectivity, 4K video support, gigabit Ethernet and more. Some issues with faulty HDMI ports were experienced by users during the initial rollout, but the extension of online services through the use of the PlayStation App and the availability of other third-party services like Netflix has turned the video game console from a toy into a computing device for lifestyle enjoyment. With some rumor that Sony is interested in developing virtual reality headsets for use with the PS4, it’s clear to see that there’s still plenty of research and development that continues to be pursued in the area of gaming and home entertainment consoles.

A device that better provides assistive therapies to elderly or physically handicapped individuals is discussed in today’s featured patent application. This device is more cost-effective and easy to wear than prior exercise support devices designed to assist walking, providing effective response to a wearer’s leg movement. We also noticed a couple of patent applications describing improvements to multiplayer video gaming environments, including one method that improves the ability for an advertiser to reach players through an in-game avatar. . . We noticed a number of patents directed at gesture and speech recognition technologies and selected a trio from those to share that improve computer recognition of speech patterns and partial gesture commands. We also discuss a patent protecting a system of home security automation through a mobile electronic device.

Better methods for providing high-quality interactive graphics with video games is the focus of today’s featured patent application. This system is designed to improve upon the quality of graphics already available through computing consoles for video gaming without causing an excess drain on graphic processing unit resources. We also discuss some other interesting innovations profiled in other patent applications, including a method for better rotational control over an electronic device’s user interface, as well as easier methods of recording stereoscopic video for 3D movies. As our readers know, issued patents are the true measure of a company’s intellectual property holdings, and Sony has been been awarded dozens just in the past few weeks. One issued patent protects a system of ordering notebooks customized with an individual’s or organization’s logo. We also discuss patents that protect systems of providing easier access to digital rights management-protected media among programs from different vendors, and a method of using televisions to edit images stored on a digital camera.

This is likely a signal of more patent infringement lawsuits yet to come in the growing patent battle by proxy between Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Samsung, HTC (TPE: 2498) and the companies behind Rockstar, which is a group created by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), BlackBerry Ltd.(NASDAQ: BBRY), Ericsson AB and Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) to acquire patents from Nortel Networks Corp. in 2011.

Last Friday we took a look at some Microsoft Xbox patents. This week’s holiday version of IPWatchdog’s Companies We Follow series continues by taking a look at some gaming related patents from the other major player in the Winter 2013 gaming market. The featured patent application today discusses a system of associating handheld controllers with users when engaging in game play through a video game console. Although this is already done manually by players, the automatic system of identifying players through camera images takes a lot of the cumbersome nature out of loading player profiles and switching out players during game play. Other patent applications have been filed to protect a new style of video game controller as well as a few other patent applications for Sony’s virtual reality and augmented reality gaming systems.