Apple has been granted four new patents today by the US Patent & Trademark Office. The patents cover four inventions that relate to Apple’s multipurpose dock, QuickTime’s transmission of differently formatted media, measuring network bandwidth between two computers, and a communication between media servers and media clients.

Stand invention (US Patent D567800) does not offer a detailed explanation as to why this dock is much different than other docks on the market. Apple only provided a one sentence explanation in the patent filing: “The stand, which can be utilized as a dock, is used to support an electronic device, such as a media player, media storage device, cellular phone, PDA and/or the like.”

Apple has applied for a patent for a new type of head mounted display that would use lasers and lenses to allow for more lightweight and comfortable goggles than are currently available. This design would separate the laser engine from the image generator via a fiber optic cable so the laser engine could be away more »

Not quite a clamshell, but a flip-phone. Apple submitted a patent application for something that looks like an iPhone with a flip-phone design and a “dual-sided trackpad device.” The design would have a touch screen on the top and bottom. Think of it as a RAZR, with a large touch screen on the top and bottom. The design would eliminate the need for those thick and bulky cases that make your iPhone and iPod Touch look ugly. Though patent submissions don’t always happen, this may be Apple’s jump to make a whole line or iPhones. iPhone… Mini, iPhone… Classic?

Another lawsuit involving Apple has been filed by ZapMedia, who claim that syncing media between the store, iTunes, and iPods violates two of their patents. It is important to note that ZapMedia only have two patents, so they’re suing for everything they have. Though, in the end, all they want is Apple’s sweet cash that more »

Apple has been a big supporter of Podcasts by putting a directory for them in the iTunes Store, and on the 14th, Apple published a patent application for “podmaps.” This could be a method for delivering maps and other media files associated with a podcast. Podcasts have become very popular over the last few years more »

Yet another patent rumor discovered by AppleInsider, this time it sounds really cool: A keyboard with every key containing an OLED display so that the keyboard layout can be easily changed. “The most common physical arrangements of keys on keyboards in Western countries are based on the “QWERTY” layout (including closely related variants, such as more »

You’re going deaf. That’s what the Daily Mail thinks, at least. The paper says that because iPod users are going deaf due to the extensive volume control on the iPod, Apple is implementing a new, automatic volume control. The patent reveals that soon-to-come iPods may automatically lower or raise the volume, based on elapsed listening more »

This week on “Lawsuits against Apple” we have a double-whammy. Apple is off to a good start this week with 2 lawsuits filed against them. One pertaining to online receipts, and the other to their notebook power adapters. I also hear that Apple’s legal team in entering the Business Olympics in the lawsuit category, but more »

Apple has filed a continuation of an older patent for a wide touchpad on a portable computer. Now before anyone gets to excited, its not for a touchscreen display. This patent deals with the touchpad that would seem to replace the current trackpad and make it larger and wider and from the look of the more »