The only confirmed launch from Lenovo’s Tech World event on June 9th is a consumer Project Tango-enabled smartphone. An invite from the reliable MotoHK now also points to a reveal of the next Moto flagship at the event. Furthermore, the Moto Z trademark has just passed (via Droid Life) the US Patent Office.
Earlier today we reported on continuing rumors that Samsung is working on a larger-screened version of its Galaxy S6 Edge. The device is set to be released before the next Note model, expected to be unveiled at IFA in September, and was up until just recently referred to as “Galaxy S6 Edge Plus.” Now, however, it’s been discovered that Samsung has filed for a trademark on the name “S6 Note.” The Galaxy S line is separate from the Note line of phablets, which is why this is interesting. We’re unsure whether or not this name is related to the rumored S6 Edge Plus.
It’s worth pointing out that large multinational corporations like Samsung obtain trademarks and patents very frequently that they never end up using at all— so you should probably take this trademark application with only a little more than a grain of salt. Under the Galaxy S line you already have the S6 Active and the S6 Edge, so the logical conclusion is that if Samsung really is developing an S6 Edge with the screen-size of the Note 5, and these two lines get ever closer to parity, it may make sense to just make the Note line a subset of the Galaxy S line as well. It’s just a theory, though.
We’ll see how this pans out later this year.
Samsung has filed for a trademark on “Gear S” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, suggesting that the South Korean handset maker could be poised to expand its wearables lineup with a new device in the near future. According to SamMobile, the “Gear S” moniker could correlate to the oft-rumored Gear Solo, which is expected to be a slightly different version of the Gear 2 smartwatch with a SIM card and cellular connectivity.
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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google has been working for the past year to register the word “Glass” as a trademark in the United States. The company successfully received a trademark for the “Google Glass” name, but so far, has been unsuccessful to its attempts to trade the single word “Glass.”
According to the report, Google first submitted its application to trademark “Glass” with the classic, futuristic font last year. Shortly thereafter, Google heard back from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and was informed that the word could not be trademarked. One of the reasons cited by the office was that the trademark was too similar to other existing and pending computer software trademarks. This could lead to consumer confusion, according to the examiner.
The trademark examiner also claimed that the word “Glass”, even when written in its classic font, is “merely descriptive.” According to federal law, words that describe a product cannot be trademarked. “Google, like many businesses, takes routine steps to protect and register its trademarks,” a Google spokesman said.
When Google registered GoogleShowy.com last month, we could only speculate what the company was planning for the domain name. The good news is that a new trademark filing (via Fusible) gives us more details about the yet-to-be announced “Showy.” According to the trademark application submitted earlier this month, Showy will consist of the following:
“Downloadable software which allows users to use their computer, tablet device, or mobile phone as a remote control to operate video display devices and televisions; and downloadable software which allows users to remotely control the content on internet-connected digital signage.”
Fusible mentioned that PatentlyApple covered a Google-filed patent application in February that detailed a voice-powered Google TV remote. Unfortunately, the filing did not offer any other details. Filings with the Federal Trade Commission last month proved Google is also working on a “home-entertainment system” for wirelessly streaming music. It is possible that this could be a new remote control solution for GoogleTV, or something more. We will keep you posted when we hear more about Showy.
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Google has just filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office detailing a coding language related to computer applications called ‘Spot’. There isn’t much more known about Spot as of yet, but it looks like GOOG has also registered a few Spot related domains including spotlang.com, spotlanguage.net, spot-lang.com, and spot-lang.net.
Perhaps Spot is something being worked on by Google’s recent acquisition of Java guru James Gosling (who has voiced concerns with Android in the past). We’ll keep you posted as more becomes available.
Amazon has halted accepting new Android app submissions in their German Appstore. Apple has been pressuring the U.S. courts to demand Amazon to shut down their Appstore, because Apple says it infringes on their trademark “App Store”. The U.S. case continues, but Apple has now filed lawsuits in Europe, forcing Amazon to halt accepting new apps in Germany — for now. Amazon told developers:
“For the time being, we are not accepting new app submissions from developers located in Germany. We have been forced to impose this restriction due to a legal action filed by Apple in Germany seeking to prevent us from using the term ‘appstore’. We believe Apple’s claim is without merit and are actively contesting it.”
Amazon also says they expect even more countries in Europe to halt accepting new apps. (via The Telegraph)
