Legal

A patent application unearthed today and detailed by Patently Apple, suggests Apple could be planning to bring augmented reality-based mapping and map search features to its camera app.

The patent application (PDF), entitled "augmented reality maps," details using the iPhone's camera and onboard sensors to pull up information about what's nearby. This is combined with a way to search, similar to what users can currently find in the maps app.

In one of the figures included in the patent (embedded above), the example user is pointing the device towards an intersection in downtown San Francisco, while … Read more

A newly published Apple patent application has provided additional hints that projectors could one day end up in future Apple products, including the company's phones, tablets, and as an accessory for notebook computers to help make it easier to share content with one another.

The application "Projected display shared workspaces" was filed in February 2010 and pulled up this morning by Patently Apple. It outlines a system for taking what's on screen and projecting it onto a nearby surface. What's interesting about the system proposed in this particular patent filing is that it can combine … Read more

With a lull in the battle of words between Google and Microsoft over patents held by tech giants, Apple today has been granted 20 new ones, including patents that cover integrated touch screens and parts of the visual voice mail tool found on the iPhone.

The full list, dug up today by Apple patent tracking blog Patently Apple, is definitely on the technical side, including printed circuit boards, metadata processing, and a system for estimating where a computer is located to improve online shipping experiences.

Of special interest though is one for an "integrated touch screen." The system, … Read more

Following this morning's news about Apple winning a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, Samsung has responded by saying that not only did the company never hear about the filing in the first place, but that it also never had the chance to present its side.

In a statement released to CNET this afternoon, and which has since been added to our original story on the injunction, a Samsung spokesman described the court's decision as "disappointing":

Samsung is disappointed with the court's decision and we intend to act immediately to … Read more

Those look-alike Apple retail stores that have been gaining attention over the past month? They appear to have caught the eye of Apple too.

In a trademark infringement lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York, Apple has taken aim at three companies and some 52 other individuals. One of those is Apple Story Inc., believed to be the match of a similarly named Apple retail look-alike in Flushing, New York.

The details of the case, which was found by AppleInsider today, are unknown since it remains sealed for all except … Read more

A decision from the U.S. International Trade Commission on whether Apple and Research In Motion are infringing on a patent held by Eastman Kodak could face additional delays and a new outcome following the planned retirement of the judge who was presiding over the case.

The Wall Street Journal reports that ITC Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern retired from the agency today, and that cases he was presiding over--including this one--have now been reassigned to other administrative law judges.

The Journal notes that Luckern has worked as an administrative law judge with the agency since 1984 and was … Read more

Personal Audio, the company that was awarded $8 million in damages from Apple in patent infringement ruling last month, has had its attempt at additional damages denied by a U.S. District judge.

In a judgment filed over the weekend, and picked up by the Courthouse News Service today, U.S. District Judge Ron Clark said there will not be a second trial to cover patent infringement issues with the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad since the previous case judgment covered both past and future use of Personal Audio's technology.

"In light of the history of this case, … Read more

Following yesterday's report that Apple and Samsung had come to an agreement in a federal court in Australia to have Samsung not sell the U.S. version of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country, Samsung has confirmed the agreement.

A Samsung spokesperson responded to Android-focused blog Austdroid, noting that the company's plans to release a version of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 for the Australian market "in the near future":

Apple Inc. filed a complaint with the Federal Court of Australia involving a Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 variant that Samsung Electronics had no plans of selling in Australia. No injunction was issued by the court and the parties in the case reached a mutual agreement which stipulates that the variant in question will not be sold in Australia.

A Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 for the Australian market will be released in the near future.

This undertaking does not affect any other Samsung smartphone or tablet available in the Australian market or other countries.

Samsung will continue to actively defend and protect our intellectual property to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communication business.

That statement obviously does not go into detail about what changes will be made to that device in order to keep Apple from going on the legal offensive once again. … Read more

The U.S. International Trade Commission today announced that its members have voted to begin an investigation on Apple's behalf into whether Samsung infringes on Apple's intellectual property with its mobile phones, tablets, and other hardware.

Apple first filed that complaint on July 5, seeking to have the Korean tech giant's devices barred from being imported into the U.S. That was just a week after Samsung had targeted the iPhone, iPod, and Mac maker with its own ITC complaint seeking similar ends. Both of these complaints were on top of the legal battle the two companies … Read more