Apple has filed a patent application for an interesting technology that could simplify networking among people gathered at conferences and concerts. Tentatively named 'iGroups', the technology will enable proximity based social networking among people attending an event. As described in the application, iGroups makes use of "tokens" that may be...

Audio text messaging could soon be coming to the iPhone if a recent patent application filed by Apple with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is anything to go by. In the filing, Apple notes that conventional text messages may not be easily readable under certain circumstances due...

A patent request shows Apple may be developing a mobile social networking application for the iPhone.

Patent system supporters regularly point (slightly misleadingly) to the claim that the patent system gives patent holders the right to exclude others from using their inventions. And, thus, most lawsuits we see around patents revolve around cases involving a company manufacturing a product that includes a patented invention. But what about a lawsuit for a company that deliberately chose not to lic...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Apple a new patent that outlines a location-based social networking application for its iPhone platform. According to PatentlyApple, which first discovered the patent filing (originally submitted in Q3 2008), Apple is at work on a solution dubbed ‘iGroups" that allows friends or colleagues attending group events like concerts, weddings and...

The US Patent and Trademark Office said that the Nexus One name had already been taken by a related product, and with this, Google has been denied a trademark application for the said handset. The ruling issued last week said Googles application was denied for the likelihood of confusion with a Nexus trademark held since

According to Patently Apple, Apple is laying the foundations for a potential iGroups app that would allow like-minded iPhone (or iPod touch and iPad users, presumably) to set up MobileMe-powered social networks at events like WWDC (Apples yearly World Wide Developers Conference). The idea is to allow groups of friends or colleagues attending such ...

Yesterday HTC issued a statement voicing it's adamant take on the current situation and conflict with Apple,"HTC disagrees with Apple's actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovat...

Apple patent applications are usually pretty dry, but it looks like a new one turned up by Patently Apple has a bit more user-focused meat to it -- it describes a location-based social networking app called "iGroups," which lets groups of people share data amongst themselves using a service like MobileMe. Once group members are identified and linked up, they can securely share information and user...

Ah, the patent wars. As you're probably aware, TiVo spent years fighting a big legal battle with EchoStar/Dish Networks over some patents on DVR technology. TiVo won big, and then immediately turned its patent lawyers on some other companies including Verizon. In Verizon's response to TiVo's lawsuit, it went nuclear back, accusing TiVo of violating Verizon's patents on DVR tech...