A new patent filing discovered on Thursday reveals Apple is looking into an automated zooming method that senses how close a person's face is to a device's display and scales the size of on-screen content accordingly, a technique that could one day enhance or even replace "pinch to zoom."
Among the multitude of patents Apple was awarded on Tuesday were two design properties for the page-turning animation seen in iOS apps like iBooks, and IP for the third-generation iPad's full-body case.
Apple on Tuesday was granted a patent outlining the basic idea and functionality of Time Machine, the backup storage feature that has been included in the company's Mac operating system since it was introduced with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard in 2007.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday granted Apple a patent for polyphonic note detection, or the ability to parse out single pitches and tones from a plurality of voices, a technology that may make its way to an expected version of the company's Logic Pro music editing software.
In a UK court ruling on Friday, Apple was ordered to pay Samsung's legal fees after the company was found to have not complied with a previous determination demanding a notice be posted to its website saying the South Korean company did not infringe on the iPad's design.
Apple announced on Saturday that it has reached a global settlement with HTC that includes the dismissal of all ongoing court litigation, and will participate in a ten-year license agreement that covers current and future patents held by both companies.
Internet software and patent holding holding company VirnetX on Friday officially announced it is asserting four virtual private network patents, the same properties used to secure a $368 million award from Apple on Tuesday, against the Cupertino tech giant's latest products.
A U.S. federal judge on Friday handed down a ruling allowing non-practicing entity MobileMedia Ideas to move forward with a suit against Apple's alleged violating a screen rotation patent, and said it's up to a jury to decide whether the iOS solution is in infringement.
It was revealed in a patent filing on Thursday that Apple is exploring the use of mechanical fans in portable devices, like the iPhone and iPad, to dissipate the heat made by increasingly powerful CPUs.
In a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, Apple presented an invention for a "dual-mode headphone" that can transform from a normal set of earbuds to a more robust speaker system.
In a late-night ruling from a federal jury in Texas on Tuesday, Apple was ordered to pay $368 million for violating a VPN patent owned by software company VirnetX.
In a motion for leave to supplement its initial infringement allegations against Samsung, Apple argues that the Korean company's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet along with the Android 4.1 operating system, dubbed Jelly Bean, should be included in an ongoing patent infringement case.
Apple on Tuesday was granted a patent for an invention that creates microperforations in a device so small as be imperceptible to the naked eye, but large enough to allow the passage of light, that can be used in concert with multitouch technology to create invisible device controls.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday issued Apple a patent for a cooling system that blows ionized air through an electronic device, controlling its path by creating electromagnetic fields that can be dynamically adjusted to direct cooling where it's needed most.
In an order filed on Thursday, it was revealed that Samsung will be able to question Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller for up to three hours, with the deposition expected to cover matters associated with Apple's request to ban products a jury found to be in violation of its patents.
A patent application discovered on Thursday for an accelerometer-based anti-theft system shows that Apple is actively researching ways to protect owners against having their expensive iDevices stolen.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday granted Apple a patent for the graphical user interface used in all versions of the iOS Maps app since the software was first introduced in iPhone OS 2.0 and the iPhone 3G in 2008.
Non-practicing entity WhitServe on Friday filed a complaint against Apple, claiming that the Quick Look function found in a number of OS X iterations infringes on its file viewing patent from 2011.
In a patent application on Thursday, Apple laid out plans for a universal connector that bridges the gap between a number of data transfer protocols, thereby limiting the types of receptacles needed on a given device.
An Apple patent application discovered on Thursday describes an authentication system for portable media devices much like the solution used in the company's Lightning cable, the iDevice-centric successor of the venerable 30-pin dock connector.
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Mikey Campbell
