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Apple secures 25 patents, including iMac, iPad Smart Cover

The tech giant wins big with more than two dozen new patents for some of its major products, such as iTunes, iMac, Time Machine, iPad Smart Covers, and even Apple Store displays.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
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Smart Covers designs for iPads are one of the 25 patents that Apple was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. James Martin/CNET

Apple made out well on a number of its pending patents today. The iPhone-maker was granted 25 new patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to Patently Apple.

Time Machine, iTunes Store, iMac, iPad Smart Covers, and Apple Store displays are just a few of the products that this round of patents cover. Many of the other patents are for items like connectors, security, and networking, according to Patently Apple.

Some of the patents are exclusively for different applications of Apple products, for example, the iTunes store patent, which is called "Content Rental System" and was filed in January 2008, involves a rental system for videos and games. This is the second iTunes patent granted to the company in the last two weeks.

The iPad Smart Cover patent deals specifically with the current generation cover design, which was made with a magnetic hinge that allows the tablet to wake up, stand up, and brighten. Other design patents Apple won were for the current-generation iMac, Apple Store display, and the iOS based Newsstand icon, according to Patently Apple.

Earlier in the month, Apple was granted 17 other patents, including a design patent on its current iPod Shuffle and another for wireless-syncing technology.