Apple Ring with biometrics patented as Global e·dentity files IP challenge
Apple has received a patent for its Apple Ring smart wearable with biometric authentication from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), according to Patently Apple.
As described in the patent filing, the Apple Ring could include a touchpad, display, speaker, microphone, camera, buttons, and possibly a dial or ‘crown.’ The wearable could be used to interact with personal digital assistants like Siri, or to control a TV, computer, or any other paired electronic device.
The biometric capabilities could be supplied by “heart-rate or pulse monitors, skin-electrical-resistance monitors, pressure sensors, perspiration analyzers, fingerprint readers,” or other sensors. They could enable authentication for control of the ring, or of an external electronic device. The filing also notes that biometric data could be shared with people such as personal trainers or health professionals to yield health insights.
Numerous other potential features and uses are described in the patent documentation, including wireless charging and different wireless transmission methods, such as NFC or Bluetooth functionality.
The patent application was originally filed in Q2 2015, Patently Apple reports. In the original report, the publication notes that the filing is for a utility patent, rather than a design patent, so it may not provide any indication of what such a device would look like after going through the design and development process.
Global e·dentity files third patent application challenge against Apple
For the third time in only six months, Global e·dentity has filed a 37CFR1.290 request against Apple with the USPTO to launch a third-party review of Apple’s patent application 16/262032, which was filed on September 12, 2019.
Global e·dentity received a patent for a biometric modality measuring subcutaneous vascular patterns and surface bone structure features, and also raised funding late last year. According to a company announcement, this technology received a provisional patent over a year earlier, in 2017.
“We are indeed flattered that Apple has now filed, not one, not two, but now a third patent application based on our already patented technology 10,135,822 Biometric authentication of individuals utilizing characteristics of bone and blood vessel structures and its continuation patents,” comments Global e·dentity Founder Robert Adams. “Having said that, the key question remains: Why did Apple fail to inform the USPTO they had in their possession per their request, all of our trade secrets and provisional patent as early as March/April 2017 when negotiations started between representatives of Apple and Global e∙dentity?”
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