Posts Tagged: "Steve Brachmann"

Electronic device developer and manufacturer Apple Inc. has recorded another big week with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. On Tuesday, the California corporation was issued 36 patents, and the USPTO published another 32 patent applications on Thursday. Many of these prospective patents focus on better responses to user interactions, including new methods of music library visualizations and smarter microphone response to ambient sound. One of the patents issued to Apple protects a fiber optic cable connection that is self-cleaning.

The system laid out in these three interrelated patent applications would create an entire secondhand market for digital content like eBooks, music files and other software by managing access rights for a single file across multiple users. For example, a user could choose to sell the digital access rights to a music file to another user. When the transaction takes place, the server hosting the file receives a notice that access has shifted from one user to another. The patent’s methods also mention facilitating a money transaction with the access transfer. This system would also help users who want to access their DRM content on a different device; often, an individual cannot access their content between different computers, even if they have access rights.

This week’s patents include a design patent awarded for a flat-screen monitor display, improvements to voicemail retrieval systems and digital image processing improvements that help retain image detail. Apple also has a very intriguing collaborative media playback patent that would allow multiple people to affect the music choices in a room directly from their electronic device.

This week Apple had a total of 34 patents issued, including four design patents and a number of patents focusing on improvements to user interfaces on various Apple devices, such as a design patent on an icon (see bottom). Other patents obtained by Apple protect a new method of removing blemishes while still maintaining image quality and an illuminable laptop latch.

USPTO published 23 patent applications filed by California electronics development and manufacturing leader Apple Inc. Efficiency seems to be a buzz word this week, as many of the patent applications seek protections for methods of either more efficient component manufacturing or different computer-based methods of using system resources effectively, including IP address allocation. Also, one notable digital media patent application shows how Apple plans to improve video playback quality by reducing the bumps and jostles of handheld recording.

Apple received 37 patents in the third week of February from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. These awarded patents include three design patents and a few motion detection sensing systems that allow individuals to interact with devices without having to touch the device. Other patents protect improvements to shock sensors within electronic devices and electronic contacts within jacks.

On Tuesday, February 12, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued 27 patents to electronics manufacturer Apple Inc., including two design patents and a couple of patents related to improvements in wireless connectivity. Apple’s patent protections also extend into the data encryption world this week, as the hardware developer is awarded a patent for a new method of hash data security based on billiards.

CopyTele claims that AUO and another Taiwanese firm, E Ink Holdings, conspired to steal patented technologies from CopyTele to monopolize production of display screens for popular consumer devices. AUO is a major manufacturer of flat screen displays for computers, televisions and tablet devices, including Apple’s iPad. E Ink Holdings is another Taiwanese electronics manufacturer that develops eReader screens for devices like Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Amazon’s Kindle.

This patent protects Apple’s 4th-generation iPod Shuffle, originally introduced by the electronics device manufacturer back in September 2010. The application for this patent was originally filed as of late August 2010. The patent’s background section describes many of the difficulties faced by Apple in the development of their line of iPod Shuffles. The Shuffle is designed to be an electronic device contained within a very small housing while fitting in the proper media player components. Even without a display screen, these components can become fairly cumbersome within a small device. The Shuffle has a click wheel that users may use to operate the device, instead of the touch-operated display found on many of Apple’s other items.

Some very intriguing upgrades to digital media collaboration systems and cash transaction networks are among the many pieces of intellectual property that Apple is hoping the USPTO will protect. Also included is an easy accessory port to improve iPad usage and a system for associating images with geographical locations for easier map indexing.