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iPhone keynote video used to invalidate patent in Germany
The Federal Patent Court of Germany has determined that Apple's patent for a "Portable electronic device for photo management" is invalid due to the fact that Steve Jobs himself showed off the feature months before the patent was filed. The portion of the patent that has become an issue has to deal with the "bounce-back" effect that occurs when photos are dragged around the screen. According to the German court, the fact that Jobs showed off this feature on stage during the January 2007 iPhone debut event constitutes pre-filing disclosure which, in Europe, makes it impossible to patent. In the United States, the 2007 presentation was protected by the 12-month grace period built into the patent law, but such protection does not exist in Europe. Apple has the choice to appeal the decision if it desires.
Tim Cook meets with China Mobile chairman
Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly met with China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua on Tuesday to "discuss matters of cooperation," according to Reuters. The meeting is thought to be a step towards the Chinese wireless carrier offering the iPhone to its customers, though no official statement was released regarding an agreement. With over 700 million customers and the title of the largest wireless operator in the world (by subscribers), a deal to offer the iPhone would be a huge win for both the state-owned China Mobile as well as Apple. China Mobile users have notoriously shied away from 3G and higher speeds in greater numbers than its competitor's subscribers. Whether or not the iPhone can help change that trend remains to be seen.
ABC's World News Tonight and Nightline enter high definition tonight
ABC's push for HD evening news comes to a head tonight, when World News with Charles Gibson and Nightline both hit your screen in 720p from the Democratic National Convention. Besides covering both conventions in HD -- and there'll be plenty of that in the '08 campaign -- when they return to the studio in September the HD love continues. 20/20, Primetime and World News on the weekend will all be HDTV-ready shortly after. B & C reveals ABC News is deploying the same Sony XDCAMs -- full HD newsgathering is on hold 'til 2009 -- used to bring home high definition Survivor this fall, add in a tropical location and it would likely be hard to tell which one we're watching.
