We had earlier reported about Apple working on a new device called the iWatch and a team of more than 100 people working on the device proves just how serious Apple is about it. Now AppleInsider has uncovered concept images of this watch from a patent filed by Apple at the US Patent Office. (more…)Google+

Apple recently won an injunction that could prevent HTC from importing several Android phones into the United States, and now it has been granted a patent for a technology that may drastically affect how Android vendors design their devices and user interfaces. The Cupertino-based company was granted a patent titled “Portable electronic device with graphical user interface supporting application switching,” which basically means Apple has been awarded a patent for switching apps while on a phone ...

Apple has reportedly told a German court that it will owe $2.7 billion if it loses a patent lawsuit against Motorola. The two companies have been locked in a legal battle in which Motorola has accused Apple of infringing on a patent related to email sync technology. As a result, Motorola recently won an injunction against Apple Inc. “In light of this risk, Apple’s lawyers have asked the court to determine that MMI will have to give a 2 billion euro bail (US$2.7 billion based on today’s excha...

A patent awarded to Apple on Wednesday points to one possible solution the company might use once it finally equips the first MacBook computer with tablet-like functionality. The unique design described in the new patent uses a clutch barrel pivoting component that serves two purposes, Patently Apple reports. First, it houses two embedded antennas that provide integrated cellular connectivity. More interestingly, however, its design allows the laptop’s display to be rotated and folded down on top of the...

Microsoft is chasing down Huawei in search of a patent licensing agreement, The Guardian reported on Tuesday. “Yes, Microsoft has come to us,” Huawei Devices chief marketing officer Victor Xu told The Guardian. ”We always respect the intellectual property of companies. But we have 65,000 patents worldwide too. We have enough to protect our interests. We are a very important stakeholder in Android.” Xu also said that “negotiations are in progress” with Microsoft, which ta...

Patent management company MOSAID Technologies has been acquired by Sterling Partners for $590 million, or $46 per share. MOSAID licenses patents and describes itself as “one of the world’s leading intellectual property (IP) companies, focused on the licensing and development of semiconductor and communications technologies.” Among the company’s intellectual property is a total of 2,000 patents originally filed by Nokia, which MOSAID acquired this past September. The company said that i...

Early Monday morning, Google announced that it will acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion. Google CEO Larry Page explained the acquisition will help bolster the tech giant’s patent portfolio and that his company will continue to “work with all [of its partners] to deliver outstanding user experiences.” While it may seem that Motorola will now have the upper hand in creating Android smartphones, execs from Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HTC, and LG have all issued statements in support of the acquisiti...

HTC’s CEO Peter Chou spoke with investors recently and promised that its ongoing patent battles with Apple will not hurt the company. “Many lawsuits nowadays are results of being successful; it’s part of the business,” Chou said. “We will not bring the company to a dangerous position.” Earlier this month the United States International Trade Commission ruled that HTC was infringing on two of Apple’s patents related to a “system and method for performing an action on...

Speaking with Bloomberg recently, HTC’s chief financial officer Winston Yung said that his company is open to cutting a deal with Apple over various patents the two companies are currently fighting over. “We have to sit down and figure it out,” Yung said. “We are open to all sorts of solutions, as long as the solution and the terms are fair and reasonable. On and off we’ve had discussions with Apple, even before the initial determination came out.” Earlier this month, an International ...

Apple has been testing a new wireless sharing feature that could allow users to quickly and easily transfer files from various iOS devices, PatentlyApple has discovered. The technology will no doubt compete with HP’s webOS “Touch-to-share” feature, which lets the Palm Pre3 and the TouchPad share files with one another. Though there is no indication as to when Apple might implement the tech, Apple’s patents outline a technology that appears to one-up HP’s offering. The patent desc...

Earlier this month a company called Lodsys began sending letters to iOS app developers using Apple’s in-app billing system, asking each to license its technology separately. In a blog post on May 15th, Lodsys explained on its website that “the scope of [Apple's] current licenses does NOT enable [Apple] to provide  ’pixie dust’ to bless another (third party) business applications.” On Monday Apple issued a response to Lodsys explaining that iOS developers are safe under its licen...

Google was recently granted permission to purchase a patent portfolio previously held by Modu, a now defunct Israeli cell phone maker that couldn’t find a market for its minuscule mobile phones. Modu emerged in 2008 touting a peculiar modular cell phone that could be placed in a variety of sleeves to perform different functions. The unique phones, while certainly interesting, lacked mass appeal and were only picked up by a few carriers. Modu would later unveil several new tiny cell phone models as it�...