Samsung Forced to Pay Apple $539 Million for Violating iPhone Patents
This patent battle between Apple and Samsung is the lawsuit that just won’t go away.
Nike Patent Imagines Shoes With Tiny Treadmills Built Into the Soles
A recently published patent filed by Nike depicts a new “rotatable conveyor element” designed to help people put on their shoes. Essentially a tiny treadmill, the proposed device is a conveyer belt that’s embedded in a shoe’s insole and “configured to rotatably engage a body part of the wearer as the foot enters the…
Why the Round Apple Watch Dream Won’t Die
Today, Apple was awarded a patent for an “electronic device having display with curved edges” that brings the dream of a round Apple Watch a little closer to the realm of possibility. Noticed by 9to5Mac, the patent mostly discusses the technical challenges when it comes to creating curved and circular displays, but…
Walmart Considering Smart Carts, Drone AssistantsÂ
Walmart filed for a glut of patents, published today, that suggest the US’s biggest retailer could be ramping up incorporation of emerging tech in ways that would dramatically change how consumers shop and order.
Amazon Patent Points to Future in Which Humanity Is Reduced to Screaming at Drones
Get ready to grovel for your next shipment of toilet paper. A recently published Amazon patent depicts a delivery drone capable of recognizing and responding to human gestures and speech, which means you may want to practice the art of supplication to ensure proper delivery of that two-ply to your front porch.
Facebook Patents Self-Balancing Robot, and It's Anyone's Best Guess Why
Earlier today, Facebook filed a patent for “a self-balancing robot that transitions from a three-wheeled mode to a two-wheeled self-balancing mode” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Facebook isn’t typically thought of a as a hardware company, and the details on what this is intended to do are left…
New Patent Hints That Apple Could Get Rid of Physical Keyboards Entirely
If you’re a holdout who refuses to upgrade to a post-2015 MacBook because of Apple’s revamped keyboard and its shallow butterfly switches, it seems like your prospects for a better experience in the future just got a little bleaker.
Amazon Patents Wristband to Track Hand Movements of Warehouse Employees
Companies love using the latest and greatest technology to keep track of employees, even when they’re at home. But Amazon’s new idea goes to extremes to treat employees like fleshy robots. The Seattle-based company was just granted two patents for employee wristbands that look like something from dystopian science…
Amazon Wants to Protect You From Falling Drones by Making Them Self-Destruct
It was almost two years ago to the day when Amazon released a cheeky video detailing its plans to conquer the skies with a fleet of package-delivering drones. We’re still waiting for these unmanned aircraft to replace standard trucks and delivery personnel, but it’s clear Amazon hasn’t abandoned the idea. Earlier this…
Could the Whole CRISPR Patent Kerfuffle Have Been Completely Avoided?
For the better part of the last three years, the introduction of the most powerful gene editing technology ever invented has been marred by a nasty patent battle. The two groups of scientists involved, each contributing significantly to the future of genetic engineering, are pitted against each other in a bitter…
Meet The Shell Company Uber Used to Acquire Otto
When General Motors acquired Cruise Automation in a deal worth more than $1 billion, Cruise transferred its patents directly to GM. When Google spun out its self-driving car experiment into a full-fledged company, it transferred its patents directly to its new subsidiary, Waymo. But when Uber acquired the self-driving…
Roomba's Next Big Step Is Selling Maps of Your Home to the Highest Bidder
The Roomba is generally regarded as a cute little robot friend that no one but dogs would consider to be a potential menace. But for the last couple of years, the robovacs have been quietly mapping homes to maximize efficiency. Now, the device’s makers plan to sell that data to smart home device manufacturers, turning…
Supreme Court Printer Cartridge Case Could Be the Citizens United of Products
It’s an obscure case that hasn’t received a ton of attention as it has made its way to the Supreme Court but the final verdict could set off a cascade of consequences in the world of consumer products.
Sony Patented a Method For Wirelessly Sucking Power From Your Friend's Phone
You’re probably already accustomed to mooching free wi-fi whenever you visit a friend, but according to a new patent Sony filed just last Friday, the company wants you to be able to steal power from a friend’s phone as well, without having to connect a single cable.
Should Anyone Own the Most Powerful Gene Editing Technology Ever Invented?
Last week, the US Patent and Trademarks office handed down a decision in one of the most high-profile patent cases of the century. In a one sentence ruling, an appeals board granted the rights to the powerful gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, while leaving the door open for…
An Insurance Company Just Filed to Trademark the Name 'Trumpcare'
Ever since Donald Trump announced his plan to run for president, random people have been filing for all kinds of trademarks that include the Trump name. Some are Trump supporters, while others are Trump resistors, but friend or foe, it’s a land grab for intellectual property rights. As you might expect, there are some…
New Apple Patent Shows How That Edge-to-Edge Display Could Work
On Tuesday, the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday granted Apple a patent that gives credence to those rumors of an edge-to-edge OLED iPhone. For years, users have longed for a phone that’s totally made up of a screen—no bullshit bezel needed—and this looks like one way it could happen.
Why the Patent Battle Over CRISPR Matters (and Why It Doesn’t)
By the time a panel of judges at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office gets around to deciding who owns the biggest biotechnology innovation of the century, CRISPR-Cas9 may have already lost its heavyweight title as the most precise tool for genetic engineering.
How the CRISPR Patent Fight Could Shape the Future of Genetic Engineering
On Tuesday, the two feuding parties of the CRISPR gene editing patent fight entered the boxing ring: attorneys for each side made oral arguments before three-judge panel, in a case that not only puts billions of potential dollars at stake, but could define the future of genetic engineering.
Samsung Accidentally Invented the Apple Watch
We get it Samsung, it’s hard playing second fiddle to Apple. You owe them a billion dollars from a four-year-old patent lawsuit, because the Samsung Galaxy was a lot like the iPhone. Another time you got a smartwatch to market, and then Apple descended from the clouds of Cupertino to declare to the world that it has…
![Tesla Agrees to Settle Class Action Suit Over 'Essentially Unusable' Autopilot Feature [Updated]](https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4yPe4g52--/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_180,q_80,w_320/pjkruolesrl8ys3itqu5.jpg)
