Posts tagged patent 
Apple patents NFC tech for controlling gadgets with iThings
Apple has been issued a patent (this one) that outlines virtually every conceivable way in which an iProduct equipped with NFC (Near Field Communication) could wirelessly interface and control a similarly NFC-equipped gadget, doodad or whatsit. Many examples are given in the documentation -- ...
Luxembourg software company suing EA, Square Enix, several others over patent infringement
What do Notch, John Riccitiello, Yoichi Wada, and Phil Larsen all have in common? A likely lacking fondness for Luxembourg-based software company Uniloc, who filed lawsuits against Notch's Mojang, Riccitiello's EA, Wada's Square Enix, and Larsen's Halfbrick recently (among others), contending that ...
Uniloc sues Mojang over alleged patent infringement in Android version of 'Mindcraft'
Texas-based tech-patent collector Uniloc has filed suit against Mojang, claiming that the Android version of "Mindcraft," (seriously, that's what it says in the filing), infringes upon Patent #6,857,067, "System and method for preventing unauthorized access to electronic data." Specifically, the ...
SCEA patents advertising that interrupts gameplay
A patent filed by Sony Computer Entertainment America in 2011 describes an advertising system in which a game would be "suspended" during play, an advertisement would come up, and then the game would continue – much like TV commercials interrupt segments of programming. According to the ...
Xbox 360 import ban to the US recommended by ITC judge
Both the 4GB and 250GB Xbox 360 S models were recommended for a trade ban in the US this week by International Trade Commission judge David Shaw. Said recommendation came several weeks after Shaw ruled in favor of Motorola in a case alleging Microsoft violated several patents held by the mobile ...
Wii U patent shows off Wiimote-to-WiiPad pointing and dragging
A patent filed by Nintendo in October of last year has just surfaced online, suggesting a neat feature for the Wii U. The patent outlines a feature in which the player can use the Wiimote to grab things from the television and transport them over to the Wii U tablet. In the example provided, the ...
Microsoft patents pressure-sensitive controller that identifies who's holding it
Iris scans are old hat. The future of biometric identification is in registering and identifying a person's unique hand pressure profile – at least, that's what someone at Microsoft believes. The megalithic multimedia mogul has been granted a patent for "personalization using a hand-pressure ...
Miyamoto's DS patent offers upgraded tourist hunting techniques
The DS Lite could see society's next great advancement in GPS technology, at least in tourist-heavy areas such as museums and haunted-home expeditions, a patent from Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto suggests. The patent describes a system where an overhead grid of infrared "positional information ...
Motorola granted injunction against Xbox 360 sales in Germany, not as dramatic as it sounds
A German court has granted Motorola Mobility an injunction against the sale and/or distribution of the Xbox 360 in Germany, as well as copies of Windows 7, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player, following a ruling that some of Microsoft's products violate patents that pertain to the H.264 ...
Microsoft patent brings us one step closer to real-life Deus Ex
In the Deus Ex universe, technology has advanced to the point where human beings are able to augment themselves with technology, enhancing their abilities and giving themselves raspy, chain-smoking truck driver voices. It's what came to mind after our pals at Engadget discovered a Microsoft patent ...
