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…
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…
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.
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.
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…
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…
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.
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.
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.
You may already use some sort of fitness tracker app or wearable which you swore, at the time, would be the thing to get you back in shape. You probably lost all motivation shortly after. Well, the Toyota of the future is here to remind you, so that’s a problem now.
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…
With millions of tourists visiting its theme parks around the world each year, it makes sense that Disney would want to track how visitors move about its attractions to help minimize lines and crowds and also to provide a unique experience for each guest. But does it have to sound so incredibly creepy?
The thumbwheel was the signature feature of BlackBerry’s original handsets, and while touchscreens have made them mostly obsolete, the Apple Watch proves there’s still a place for physical dials. But is Apple finally planning to introduce that rotating crown to the iPhone or iPad? A recently published patent suggests…
Florida man Thomas Ross believes that he divined the future of human communication 15 years before Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone. Ross scribbled together a patent application for a device back in 1992 and now claims that Apple stole his design. Now, the Florida man is suing Apple for over $10 billion.
Google loves to brag about how its self-driving cars have the ability to save lives by being really good at not crashing into things. But crashes do still happen, and when they do, Google apparently has a backup plan: human flypaper.
Apple is known for its seamless and aesthetically pleasing design. As smartphone design evolves, however, its chunky bottom bezel—where the home button lives—is starting to look mighty antiquated. Judging by a patent published yesterday, however, Apple might be fixing to leave the bezel behind.
Samsung thinks it has a possible solution to the problem of tiny, hard-to-read smartwatches: a projector. The company has filed a patent for a smartwatch that projects a larger screen onto the user’s hand or forearm.
Even on a hot summer day, the outside temperature at 30,000 feet can hit 50 below zero. Ice forming on a plane’s fuselage is inevitable, despite how dangerous it can be. So to help ensure planes can survive freezing temps, Boeing is developing fake plastic ice to make it easier to test its aircraft.
It’s widely accepted that the United States patent system is broken. Alexander Reben agrees, and his response has been to create a website that aims to make it harder for people to patent new ideas.
Mattel might be the first to market with a 3D printer aimed at kids, but Hasbro isn’t sitting by and letting its main competitor have all the 3D fun. The company just patented a kid-friendly 3D scanner that can digitize small objects using a smartphone’s camera and clever software.
