patents

Apple is in the middle of another lawsuit, this one over charges that its Passbook app violates several patents of software developer Ameranth.

In the court document, Ameranth, which sells software and services to the hospitality and gaming industry, claims that Passbook violates four of its U.S. patents -- No. 6,384,850, No. 6,871,325, No. 6,982,733, and No. 8,146,077.

All four patents deal with "Information management and synchronous communications system." As such, they cover the ability to synchronize data among wired, wireless, and Web-based systems for electronic menus and reservations … Read more

Fresh off a courtroom victory against Apple today, Samsung filed another legal salvo against its chief foe.

The Korean electronics giant submitted an amendment to a lawsuit originally filed in April against Apple, adding the iPhone 5 to a list of devices that includes the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and the new iPad that Samsung accuses of infringing on several Samsung patents.

Samsung reportedly threatened to sue Apple last month for patent infringement over its then rumored use of long-term evolution (LTE) connectivity in the next-generation smartphone. While the new iPhone's debut last month confirmed that Apple'… Read more

Apple has filed a handful of patent applications that suggest future iterations of the iPhone and iPad will have dramatically improved camera features.

The seven patent filings -- filed on Thursday and first discovered by Patently Apple -- describe gesture techniques and technology for preventing red eye in images.

The abstract for patent application No. 20120242852 outlines mapping user interactions to input the parameters for various image filters, as well as applying "location-based distortions" to image processing. … Read more

Apple has been sued by a Texas-based company for allegedly infringing on a patent with its Numbers spreadsheet software.

The complaint, which was filed on Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Tyler Division, accuses Apple of infringing on a patent covering a "system and methods for improved spreadsheet interface with user-familiar objects" with its Numbers software.

That patent was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1995, and now belongs to Data Engine Technologies LLC, a non-practicing entity, or what some would call a "patent troll." … Read more

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt says his company and Apple are friendly, despite some evidence to the contrary.

Speaking to reporters in South Korea today, Schmidt said Apple "is actually a very good partner" of Google's. According to the Korea Times, which was first to report on his comments, Schmidt went on to say that his company and Apple "are literally talking all the time about everything."

Before long, however, the conversation turned to Apple's ongoing legal war with Android vendors, including Samsung and Google-owned Motorola. Schmidt didn't say too much, according to … Read more

Apple has been on a patent tear as of late, and it doesn't appear the company will slow down anytime soon.

The iPhone maker has filed for a patent related to "electronic devices with flexible displays." According to the filing, which was first discovered by Unwired View, it'll allow for mobile devices to feature flexible screens that can match the case design of a respective device.

The patent application, published today, describes a method by which Apple could place a speaker or microphone under the screen. In addition, a keyboard could be modified to handle the … Read more

Already reeling from legal battles with Apple, Samsung is the target of yet another patent lawsuit.

LG Display said today that it has filed a patent infringement suit against the handset maker, alleging that Samsung violated seven of its OLED (organic light-emitting diode) patents.

The lawsuit specifically claims that Samsung infringed on the design of LG's OLED panels, driver circuitry and device design, reported the Wall Street Journal. LG is looking for an unspecified amount in damages and a permanent injunction of five infringing products, including the Galaxy S3 phone, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet, and the Galaxy … Read more

Samsung's Shin Jong-kyun will meet with Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt in Seoul tomorrow, and it's a safe bet the topic of Apple will come up.

The Samsung Mobile chief confirmed today that he will meet with Schmidt on Thursday in Seoul, according to the Korea Times. Shin was mum on details, so the agenda is unknown. The Samsung executive also said that meetings with major U.S. carriers are scheduled for next week.

But the meeting with Schmidt comes a little more than a month after Samsung lost a major patent case to Apple in the U.… Read more

Samsung today won an important ruling against Apple in Germany.

The Mannheim Regional Court ruled today that Samsung does not violate a patent Apple holds related to touchscreen functionality in mobile devices. According to the Korea Times, which was first to report on the judgement, the patent in question relates to the way a touchscreen interprets finger inputs.

Apple and Samsung have been waging a bitter patent battle all over the world. Neither company had gained an upper hand until last month when a jury in San Jose, Calif., charged Samsung with copying Apple's products. Over the next few … Read more