Tag Archives: patent
New Apple Patent = Solar + Touch
The idea of charging a smartphone with solar energy isn’t new, but Apple plans to take it a step further by building solar charging capability directly into the iPhone. Apple’s patent, which integrates touch sensor and solar assembly, has just been approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The innovative devise, which will be used in future iPhones [...]
Apple’s Solar Touchscreen Patent Revealed
In what was called a ‘shocker’ by Patently Apple, a blog—not surprisingly—dedicated to Apple’s patents, Apple was granted a patent for a touchscreen that would also serve as a transparent solar charger. Apple filed the patent in 2008. While it’s far from the first solar patent by Apple or other tech giants, it could be [...]
The Solar Powered iPhone: Coming Soon?
Forbes just posted an article about a patent Apple was granted yesterday that paves the way for a solar powered iPhone in which the solar cells will also double as touch screen sensors: Most of us have used or at least seen solar power calculators. Why not use solar power to augment the battery in [...]
In Focus: Apple’s Wind Turbine Patent
In a rare move for Apple, the company filed for a patent for a wind turbine, in 2011. That wind turbine would uniquely generate electricity from stored heat energy, not by rotating blades, which would solve the problem of intermittency. In its filing, Apple notes that current turbines rely on a constant supply of wind because of the way they are [...]
A Proposal for a Global Green Patent Highway
In a number of previous posts (e.g., here, here, here and here), I and others have reported on the accelerated examination programs for green technology patent applications offered by various national patent/IP offices in countries such as the UK, Korea, Brazil and China. My most recent article, published last week in the Fall 2012 Issue of [...]
Natcore: Racking Up NREL Black Silicon Patents
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has expanded the license it gave New Jersey-based Natcore Technology to develop its black silicon. The term “black silicon” refers to the seeming color of the solar cell. The dark color allows the cells to absorb more sunlight and convert more into electricity, increasing the energy output and effective efficiency [...]
Zep Solar and Westinghouse Settle Litigation
Previous posts (here, here and here) discussed the patent litigation between Zep Solar and Westinghouse Solar over solar panel mounting technology. The contentious dispute involved at least three patents, three forums, two reexaminations, and back and forth cross claims of infringement and invalidity. Recently, Zep and Westinghouse announced that they have reached a comprehensive settlement to end their patent [...]
eSolar eNforces eCo-mark
eSolar is a Burbank, California, solar thermal company that makes solar power plants using flat mirrors, or heliostats, to concentrate sunlight onto a centrally located water tank suspended on a tower. This type of structure is known as “power tower” architecture. The company owns U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,828,737 for the ESOLAR word mark for, inter alia, ”power plants” [...]
Green Technology Intellectual Property Summit 2012 Lands in Chicago
The American Conference Institute will hold a Green Technology Intellectual Property Summit in Chicago this summer. Scheduled for June 27-29, 2012, this conference will bring together attorneys, in-house professionals, investors and government officials for two and a half days of discussion on green IP issues. With Michael Wise of Perkins Coie, I will be speaking on international protection [...]