Do you know how many patents Apple owns? or even care? If not maybe you should cause many times these same patents have gotten in the way of your favorite products and companies. On this episode we talk about that and other patents that company Apple owns.

Show notes

- Mood-associated characteristics that determines how users feel. This reminded me of the research Facebook did on its user base. Facial expressions, national holidays, and websites visited by users. Will probably be used for advertisement purposes.

- A rectangle with rounded corners (2012)... Yes, they own a patent for a shape. The patent application claim states "The ornamental design for a portable display device, as shown and described". Check out the rectangle with rounded corners. Wow, what innovation.

- Multi-touch patent that covers gestures on a screen. Filed in 2007 but was granted in 2011. The claim stated among other products “... graphical user interface for interpreting a finger gesture.“

- Near Field Communication technology - Using a bridging application that works with, for example, the payment system Apple Pay, creates a tap-and-pay transaction at a terminal installed at retailer locations. The terminal costs hundreds of dollars each and is too expensive for some retailers to implement throughout their stores. Pretty much is an investment for retailers to outfit their locations with this, and some critics say that they don't trust that there will be a payoff soon enough or even at all.

- A digital remote control that uses pictures for its devices to navigate Apple TV (March, 2014)

- Their glass cube store patent being granted was 14 years in the making. According to Time Magazine, "Jobs had reportedly paid for the construction of the glass cube himself and owned the structure." Apple was granted a patent on curved building panels: Design patent for their Shanghai Apple store (2013). Steve Jobs was listed as one of its designers. They were also granted a patent for a spiral glass staircase (also 2013).

Sources

Cube store - http://1.usa.gov/1xRpCSs

GUI remote control for Apple TV - http://1.usa.gov/1reUKnG

Swipey swipey - http://1.usa.gov/1tdDtvQ

Rounded rectangle - http://bit.ly/1FgV5MZ

Abby Martin's take on Apple patents - http://bit.ly/1pcMskw

Patently Apple - http://www.patentlyapple.com/

Apple Insider - http://appleinsider.com/

US PTO - http://www.uspto.gov