Three new Apple patent applications were published today by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office:
• United States Patent Application #20060248114: “Techniques for acquiring a media season of digital media assets” (Filed: March 7, 2006)
Techniques to facilitate acquiring a media season, or a related series, of digital media assets from an on-line media store are disclosed. A user can view various media seasons that have been listed as available for purchase from the on-line media store. A user can choose to purchase a particular media season, either before or during the season. Subsequent to the purchase of the particular media season, digital media assets of the particular media season can be delivered to the user once the digital media assets become available. Since the monitoring is computerized and the delivery is electronic, once a digital media asset becomes available, delivery can be automatically processed.
Full application here.
• United States Patent Application #20060248113: “On-line media store that supports pre-ordering of digital media assets” (Filed: October 10, 2005)
Techniques to facilitate pre-ordering of digital media assets from an on-line media store are disclosed. A user of the on-line media store can view advance listings for digital media assets that have not yet been released. A user can also choose to pre-order a digital media asset that has not yet been released. According to one aspect, a bundle (or group) of digital media assets can be pre-ordered. Such a pre-order is recorded and monitored so that the desired digital media asset can be purchased and delivered to the user once the digital media asset become available. Since the monitoring is computerized and the delivery is electronic, once a digital media asset becomes available, delivery of any pre-order can, if desired, occur nearly immediately.
Full application here.
• United States Patent Application #20060247976: “On-line media store that supports pre-ordering of digital media assets” (Filed: August 24, 2005)
Techniques to facilitate pre-ordering of digital media assets from an on-line media store are disclosed. A user of the on-line media store can view advance listings for digital media assets that have not yet been released. A user can also choose to pre-order a digital media asset that has not yet been released. Such a pre-order is recorded and monitored so that the desired digital media asset can be purchased and delivered to the user once the digital media asset become available. Since the monitoring is computerized and the delivery is electronic, once a digital media asset becomes available, delivery of any pre-order can occur nearly immediately.
Full application here.
Apple decided to patent everything. That is good!
Rip me off once, shame on you. Rip me off twice, shame on me.
Got that, Microsoft and Creative?
Hey, they held off with the menu thing and it cost them 100 million. I think a patent is a lot cheaper than than.
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One question for the group. Notice how Apple patents are springing up all over (starting about a year ago). Any thoughts.??
My thought is that when Apple did that cross licensing thing with Microsoft about 6 years ago (it was a license to use anything the other had or developed in the next 5 years) to cross licence to let MS have the desktop rights, I think Apple got the rightsd to use anything related to MS software.
I think that is why Apple Boot camp works. I think Steve was pissed at Gates for putting it to him with the whole windows thing (behind his back while Apple was focused on IBM) and this is his way of totally putting it to Bill Gates. Apple patents have been lacking for 5 years. Now, after the agreement is over, Apple is patenting all the new stuff.
HMMMMM. I just wonder.
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So, in around a year Apple will sue MS for videos on Zune marketplace (assuming that it is still around).
Good for them, bad for people. Just because the patent office gives out patents for completely obvious ideas doesn’t make it right.
I love Apple but these patents are just ridiculous. The fact that this is how the system works doesn’t make it right. However, the more ridiculous patents get awarded, the larger the problem grows and someone will have to fix it.
When a patent is filed on an improvement it must read as a total explanation. It just sounds like they are trying to patent everything, actually they are just repeating everything so they can add the improvement.
The US patent office is filled with a bunch of idiots. While it is good for Apple to get these patents, is this really that unique?
These patents are as stupid as the “1 click ordering” patent that Amazoon has that they have used to make life miserable for every other web merchant.
Patenting is a must for Apple.
What about the double-click patent, filed by MS?
http://www.earthv.com/articles.asp?ArticleID=2260
The U.S. patent system is a joke. Good for Apple, though; until someone fixes it, if they don’t play the game, they’ll get screwed.
Oh, I think ‘Kate’ has the whole bigotry thing covered.
We must be missing something. What next? Who’s got a patent for the 1-double-click purchase?