patents

WhitServe, which owns intellectual property but doesn't make any real products, is suing Apple over allegations that versions of the Mac OS X operating system infringe on a file viewer patent it holds.

The complaint, filed today in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, claims that Apple's Quick Look violates Patent No. 7,921,139, a system for "sequentially opening and displaying files in a directory."

Introduced in 2007 with Mac OS X Leopard, Apple's Quick Look allows users a convenient way to preview the contents of a document before opening it fully in an … Read more

A recently filed lawsuit over Apple's Siri has already run into a wrinkle -- the judge assigned to the case has stepped down because of his "interest" in Apple.

District Court Judge Gary Sharpe recused himself from the case yesterday, citing a law that says, "Any conduct that would lead a reasonable [person] knowing all the circumstances to the conclusion that the judge's 'impartiality might reasonably be questioned' is a basis for the judge's disqualification."

It's not clear what Sharpe's "interest" in Apple was, but most likely it was … Read more

Apple has revealed that Samsung is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The company announced the investigation in a filing with the U.S. International Trade Commission on Monday, saying that the "Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the manner in which Samsung has used -- or misused -- its declared-essential patents."

The Justice Department has not confirmed that and has stayed tight-lipped on the matter, but Dow Jones Newswires is reporting today, citing a source, that the investigation has been going on for months.

FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller was first to report on the investigation.… Read more

Here we go again.

A Dutch court ruled today that Samsung does not violate a patent Apple holds on the so-called pinch-to-zoom feature in mobile software. The feature, which allows users to employ their two fingers to zoom in or out, is a central component in mobile operating systems today.

Today's ruling comes down just months after Apple lost similar battles in Dutch and British courts to enforce the pinch-to-zoom patent against competitors HTC and Google-owned Motorola Mobility. Apple had hoped in each case to ban products that it believed infringe its patents banned from sale.

So far, neither … Read more

Apple is having a busy week, not just with its iPad Mini event, but with a slew of new patent wins.

The company recorded 34 patent awards from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today, as counted by Patently Apple.

One patent, dubbed "Content abstraction presentation along a multidimensional path," ventures into technical territory, as the name alone implies. But the patent apparently ties into Apple TV by talking about digital video and audio players that can play stored content, browse recorded content, and save different types of content chosen by the user.

"These various functions … Read more

Apple might have some trouble on its hands.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) yesterday ruled that all twenty claims included in Apple's so-called "rubber-banding" patent are invalid, according to Foss Patents' Florian Mueller, who first discovered the rejection. Following that ruling, Samsung quickly filed a motion with Judge Lucy Koh, informing her of the USPTO's decision.

The rubber-banding patent, known on the USPTO site as "List scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display," is broad in its scope. The patent describes a "rubber band" effect … Read more

Score another one for Apple. Or two.

Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported over the weekend that Apple won a pair of cases against Samsung over the last several weeks. The first, which came down in mid-September, found that Apple did not infringe a Samsung patent related to application downloads. The second ruling occurred earlier this month, and found that Apple did not violate Samsung patents related to airplane mode.

According to Foss Patents' Florian Mueller, Samsung had also tried to claim infringement against a third patent related to the way in which space is used on a home screen, but … Read more

Google is considering a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the agency's claim that the search giant violated antitrust law when it didn't grant patent licenses to some of its mobile competitors, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

An unnamed source told the Journal that Google is weighing whether or not it should settle.

When asked for comment on a possible settlement, a Google spokeswoman said only:

"We take our commitments to license on fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory terms very seriously and are happy to answer any questions [from the FTC]."

CNET has contacted the … Read more

Apple has once again hit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with some patent applications.

First up is AirPlay Mirroring: Called "Gesture visualization and sharing between electronic devices and remote displays," the patent application describes a method by which onscreen information is sent wirelessly to another display. Apple's patent application, which was first discovered by Patently Apple, assumes that the first device, which will send the onscreen visuals to the second display, comes with a touch screen, seemingly limiting the patented technology to its iPhone or iPad.

"Size and resource limitations may prevent users of … Read more