SensoryMetrics

Apple filed a new US patent application describing a "smart cursor" that is able to detect certain states on a mouse-over and change its appearance accordingly (or display text). Apple first did this in Hypercard when its pointer changed to a hand when the user moused-over a hyperlink. According to Apple, when a cursor is ...

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It was a busy week at the US patent office: 4 granted patents referenced our SM patents. One in particular is interesting - IBM's Wristwatch type device and method for moving pointer. It references our Active Edge UI. On the surface the idea looks silly... a wrist mounted touchpad. But how many ...

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For those who know me - or have heard me speak - you know I'm very passionate about innovation and the patent process. Rarely do I talk about the bad side of patents(mostly because so many others do.) Here's the typical process... You get a nifty idea, and prototype it. Looks good to the company you're ...

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The latest patent law sideshow is now playing out in a Washington DC court. Here's the 30 second version: Microsoft stole IBM's method for compressing audio and built in into their OS. Microsoft admits it's wrong - but only in the US. Internationally, Microsoft takes it's source code (burnt on a special ...

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I've been playing with Google's patent search engine. It's a nice alternative to the restrictive search provided by the US Patent and Trademark Office. As an added bonus, the main search page features "fun" patent drawings such as this one for the invention of the pocket protector - in 1903. Now that's ...

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