Benefits and disadvantages of patents
In order to understand what patents are, it is also necessary to detail the benefits and also the disadvantages of this type of instrument. In the case of positive aspectswe can stand out:
- Avoid plagiarism of inventions.
- Current technological information is offered.
- Patents are public to be consulted.
- Inventor can benefit from exploitation licenses.
But not everything is positive, since you can also find negative aspects of patents. Specifically, we can summarize it in the following aspects:
- Monopolistic obstacles to free competition in the market.
- It hinders the free diffusion of innovation. This means that it ends up slowing down technological development.
- It makes it difficult for poor countries to access new technologies.
Do they have a duration?
This is undoubtedly one of the big questions that can be raised right now with any type of patent. Any type of document or invention has a set expiration date. This is very relevant, because the patent related to the Apple Watch sensor has an end time, for example. And from here the theory marks that anyone can patent it again.
In general, patents have a duration of 20 years. At that time the invention will belong only to you. But from this time frame, everything changes. Patent registration allows you to keep the idea as long as established fees are paid. This means that keeping patents in force for a company like Apple that has thousands of registrations made, can lead to a high financial outlay. But it is something necessary as is logical to be able to have absolute control over their devices and the technologies they have implemented of their own.
Apple and its relationship with patents
Once we take into account general aspects of patents, it is possible to become much more specific within the company itself. In this case, we can carefully analyze the clues that consulting an Apple patent and all the information it offers can lead to.
Hints about future devices or features
As we have mentioned before, Apple makes patents for inventions that its team of engineers of a new technology makes. This is something that can be seen in something as simple as the multi-touch system that was integrated into many of the company’s devices. Before implementing the device or technology as such, it must first be patented. That is why consulting patents can be a clear indication of all the company’s plans in the future.
If there are rumors that a new device may be launched, in the patents you can clearly check whether it is being worked on or not. One of the clearest examples within Apple may be the launch of a folding iPhone. In this case, it can be verified if it is in Apple’s mind or if it is working on whether different patents of the technology to be implemented are launched. In these cases, the patents can be considered small clues offered by the company in an indirect way of everything that is happening in the bowels of the company.
It is really important to patent all the technologies before the device itself is released where they will be implemented. This will always allow us to have a legal shield in front of us, in order to prevent someone from stealing the technology or even third-party companies denouncing it for not having all the patented technologies, or that another company has it in their name.
They don’t always end up coming to light
But although there are many patents that Apple registers over a year, they will not always end up coming to light. This is something that we can extrapolate to a person who has had an idea, patents it, but does not use it in any way. This is something that also happens to Apple. And it is that the engineering team can come up with many innovative ideas regarding new functions that finally do not apply to any product which is released by the company.
This is mainly because an idea can be particularly interesting on paper, but when put into practice it changes completely. One of the clearest cases we have seen in the history of Apple is that of the AirPower. Although the patent was registered, when it was attempted to be carried out, numerous problems were found in the quality controls. In this way it can be concluded that many of the patents that Apple has have always been in a drawer and they have not come to light.
But this is something really common when we talk about technology companies. It should also be noted that there are many proprietary technologies that are too general and some that are futuristic. In the company itself there are patents for keyboard systems that are totally virtual, and that a priori we are not going to see implemented. In this case right now the patents may be paralyzed in a drawer, but they are giving us clues as to where the company is going in the future.
Grant of patents
As we have mentioned before, patents can become a real business. The licenses that are granted generate a large amount of money, which for the companies is a large injection of capital. This is what is known as the granting of patents. Granting a patent means that the owner of the patent authorizes another individual or organization to manufacture or generally exploit the invention that is proposed.
Apple in this way can have many patents granted to various companies, and this is something that it also does with other competing inventions. That is why on many occasions we can talk about the rivalry or competition that exists in the technological world, but in reality they are all such friends and collaborate with each other. In exchange for a large amount of money, patents end up being granted and extra performance is obtained from the technology.
In the end, whoever manages to patent something basic in the first place will be the winner. This is due to the fact that the rest of the companies are going to have to order first from the first to be able to make use of an invention that is basic. In the long run, this has a really important economic return.
Protection of your products
Apple equipment like the iPhone, iPad or Mac are really coveted. There are different counterfeits of the company’s iconic products on the market due to the success they can have among the public. It is for all this that the company must have this type of tools available to be able to defend itself in a legal way when someone tries to plagiarize them.
Although, we have seen how in recent years there have been many companies that have tried to plagiarize Apple and there were no legal consequences. In these cases, Apple always attacks the clearest counterfeits that may exist on the market. For example, one of the most curious patents that may exist is that of the shape of an iPhone, and that is that legally no company or individual is going to be able to make a mobile device similar to this.
Apple’s craziest patents
Once we have all this relevant information about Apple’s patents in hand, we can start talking about those that are more “crazy”. Among these we can talk about different inventions that no one can think of having a patent. Keep in mind that the Cupertino company has patented more ideas apart from those related to technology.
Transparent stairs of your stores
And spinning with the last thing we have referenced, you should know that one of the strangest patents that Apple has is related to some simple stairs. If you have visited any of the most important Apple stores, you have surely been amazed by its transparent stairs. These especially can be found in New York or Paris.
And it is that these simple stairs are completely patented by Apple, with the registration D478, 999S. This is something that can be quite shocking because it is not related to any of the innovative products, but to their stores.
Apple smart ring patent
Without a doubt, this is one of the most curious patents that can be seen. This would have a small screen and even speakers and microphone and you would always wear it. Specifically, there are several patents that can be found where the sensors that can be found and the compatibility with other equipment such as the Apple Pencil are explained. This could be ideal to be able to have much more direct feedback on what you want to do.
It is clear that it is a very curious product, since the fact that a technology company launches a ring is at least curious. This is a more than clear example of patents that are future focused of the company with its releases.
User interface
When we are using an iPhone or an iPad, the graphical interface is really characteristic of Apple. Since its inception, the operating system displays applications in grids and in an orderly manner on the different screens of the device. This distribution is included in a patent, so the fact of having rounded square icons on the screen is legally owned by Apple.
There were many controversies about this design. The most notorious was the lawsuit against Samsung, since the Cupertino company defended the idea that Samsung had stolen the interface using icons that had a similar design to the one used in iOS. In this here there was a real legal battle, where the patent was in the real center of attention.
tactile gloves
In the event that you have been in cold environments, surely you have suffered the consequences of wear gloves with a touch screen. It is impossible to accurately control this while your hands are covered. In the market you can find different models of gloves whose mission is always to be able to touch the screen without any problem and above all: without getting cold.
Well, this, which is something quite simple, is patented under number 7,874,021, entitled «magic gloves». These allow the iPhone to be used in cold climates. As the patent explains, it has several layers and a lining. This is the part that can be “opened” to use the iPhone quickly and conveniently.
music icon
The icon with which we know Apple Music has evolved over time. In 2012 this was characterized by having a black bracket on a blue background. Now this icon is fully registered under patent D668.263S. But the colors as such are not registered, but the shape of a square bracket in a circle.
In this way you will not see any other application that has this icon. In the end, it has become the Cupertino company’s own brand to take into account since it is completely registered. It is certainly something quite curious that even the icons used within the operating system are completely patented. A company of this size does not want to leave any open flank that could lead to different legal wars.
