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bizwriter writes:
A new patent for Amazon just put the company squarely in the location tracking controversy. It covers a system to not only track, through mobile devices, where individuals or aggregated users have been, but determine where they're likely to go next to better target ads, coupons, or other messages that could appear on a mobile phone or on displays that individuals are likely to see in their travels. The system could also use someone's identity to further tailor the marketing according to demographic information.
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bizwriter writes:
Apple has spared no effort in trying to injure its arch mobile rival through the courts, like blocking Android vendors from important markets through patent and trademark infringement suits. Now it’s developing an additional angle: an attempt to patent in-application purchases from third parties, as an application filed on April 26, 2010 and made public on Thursday made clear.
23672232
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bizwriter writes:
According to recent studies by ABI Research, devices like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are the most popular options for watching online programming from Netflix (NFLX). A survey showed that game console users watched between 7 and 8 hours of online video every week on these devices, versus those using set-top boxes, Internet TVs, and connected Blu-ray players with integrated streaming features.
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sciencehabit writes:
They're not quite psychic yet, but machines are getting better at reading your mind. Researchers have invented a new, noninvasive method for recording patterns of brain activity and using them to steer a robot. Scientists hope the technology will give "locked in" patients—those too disabled to communicate with the outside world—the ability to interact with others and even give the illusion of being physically present, or "telepresent," with friends and family.
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bizwriter writes:
Facebook keeps nailing patent awards that will make it difficult for competitors to provide what have become basic features. Its latest covers who can view a social network user’s profile and whether someone else can see a full profile or only a shorter version.
And this patent might explain in part why Google decided to go for public only profiles. It also suggests that other services, like LinkedIn, could face a bit of a problem.
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bizwriter writes:
Executives who get frustrated by dealing with government agencies might wonder why things never seem to get better. There’s a good reason: innovation, or rather, a lack of it. A survey by non-profit organization Partnership for Public Service and management consulting firm Hay Group ranked government agencies and groups by how much employees felt encouraged to be innovative. Unfortunately, many parts of government that are nearest, if not dearest, to the hearts of business are anything but innovative.
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bizwriter writes:
First, Apple talked a German court into a preliminary injunction against Samsung, to bar the Galaxy Tab tablet from most of the European Union for the time being. Now it's trying to do the same to Motorola. But this isn’t a story of Apple protecting some hard-won patented innovations. Instead, the company is trying to block competitors based on a trademarked design — basically, a tablet shape. And it’s filing for these preliminary injunctions without giving the other parties any warning that would let them defend their position in court.
22999860
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bizwriter writes:
In a stunning and painful decision for Samsung, Apple (AAPL) got a German court to issue a preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab. According to patent analyst and blogger Florian Mueller, that means Samsung cannot for the time being sell its tablet in the entire European Union, except for the Netherlands.
22974238
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bizwriter writes:
HTC just acquired cloud-company Dashwire in its ongoing efforts to strengthen its patent armament. However, some of the biggest implications in patent applications and grants hasn't been reported. If HTC is successful with the material it is obtaining, it could prove to be a nasty shock to Apple, Microsoft, and others, with one application, if granted, potentially covering an important aspect of iCloud.
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bizwriter writes:
According to a former appeals court chief judge, some provisions of patent reform in the Senate favor banks and high tech companies at the expense of start-ups. And, apparently, some of the biggest financial services companies aren’t happy that word is getting around.
22736378
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bizwriter writes:
Trademarks are serious stuff in law and business. But things can get too serious and precious sometimes, which may help explain a mocking ruling yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in a trademark dispute between Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products and Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB). The subject? Diamond-shaped embossing on toilet paper.
