patents

Apple was granted design patents today for the contentious slide-to-unlock user interface asset and the design for the original iPhone.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved Apple application No. D675,639 for "ornamental design for a display screen or portion thereof with a graphical user interface," which includes illustrations of the familiar horizontal bars with rounded corners found at the bottom of locked iOS screens since the original iPhone's debut in 2007.

Slide-to-unlock functionality has become a major sticking point with handset makers. Apple, which was granted a patent for the feature in 2011, has … Read more

Apple's request to fast-track a sales ban on Samsung products has been rejected by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

As Reuters reports, the iPad and iPhone maker yesterday lost its bid to rush the appeals process. It must now wait for a three-judge panel review of the appeal before potentially reaching the full court.

Apple is appealing the U.S. District Court's rejection of a permanent injunction on certain Samsung products following Apple's victory last year in its high-profile patent battle that resulted in a $1.05 billion award to Apple in damages.

During Apple'… Read more

Samsung Display and LG Display have decided to settle their patent disputes through dialogue and not court proceedings, a new report out of Korea claims.

Yonhap News reported today that Samsung and LG executives met at a hotel in Seoul to discuss their lawsuits. After leaving that meeting, Samsung Display CEO Kim Ki-nam told Yonhap that the companies will "resolve the issue one by one." LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom said the executives will continue to hold discussions.

LG Display sued Samsung Display in September, alleging that one of its chief competitors is violating seven patents it holds … Read more

Apple has acquired 18 patents related to "axis-based user interface technology," the intellectual property's former owner Maya-Systems announced yesterday.

According to Maya-Systems, which developers content-management technologies, the companies signed the deal in the third quarter of 2012. Apple acquired only a portion of the company's axis-based user interface technology.

Maya-Systems' axis-based technologies allows developers to group files around a given axis. In some cases, that can mean timelines. The technology is available in the company's IAmOrganized program, which provides file management and cloud storage.

That cloud-storage element is making some folks across the Web speculate … Read more

A subsidiary of intellectual-property firm Vringo is suing Microsoft for allegedly infringing two of its patents, Vringo said today.

Wholly owned subsidiary firm I/P Engine filed the suit in the Southern District of New York.

I/P Engine is seeking a judgment from the court declaring that Microsoft did infringe its patents and requests the court to award past and future damages through royalties and "any form of recoverable economic injury."

The two patents relate to U.S. Patent No. 6,314,420 and U.S. Patent No. 6,775,664, which detail essentially the foundation framework … Read more

Apple is asking a U.S. District Court judge to force Google to comply with a subpoena on data the iPhone maker says will aid its case against Motorola.

Apple earlier this week filed a "motion to compel compliance with a subpoena" in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. Patently Apple was first to discover the filing and reported on it today.

Google was slapped with a subpoena in August, requiring the company to hand over pertinent information for the discovery phase of a case that Apple is building against Motorola. … Read more

Google has been granted a patent for LED technology that could be used to boost smartphone camera capabilities.

Patent 8,363,157, granted yesterday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, documents how LED lighting could be used to give a mobile device the ability to fire with multiple flashes.

Relating to "flash mechanisms for digital cameras that are incorporated into mobile communication devices such as smartphones and tablet computers," the patent documents how a smartphone's shots could be improved by boosting flash capabilities.

As shown, one hypothetical design for the LEDs would ring the LED … Read more

U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh handed down some of her first post-trial rulings from the much publicized Apple v. Samsung patent case this evening.

In a 32-page order filed today, the judge said she predominantly agreed with the jury's decision that Samsung infringed on seven of Apple's design and utility patents. However, she disagreed with one finding -- that Samsung "willfully" infringed on Apple's patents.

What this means is that Apple will now be unable to triple its damage awards. If Koh had agreed with the jury on this decision, Apple could have … Read more

Newegg last week won an important ruling that could have a profound impact on e-commerce.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last week ruled (PDF) that Newegg has not violated patents held by a company called Soverain related to the function of shopping carts and other e-commerce technologies. The court found that Soverain's claims -- that Newegg was violating its patents through its online shopping cart -- were "invalid for obviousness."

Ars Technica was first to report on the judgement.

Soverain doesn't actually make use of its patents in an e-commerce business. … Read more