Apple is filing more patents than ever before, but can we gain an insight into future products by studying them, asks a patent lawyer.
In his report, at MacNewsWorld, Marc Hubbard reveals that the annual rate at which Apple has been filing patent applications has doubled each year since 2003.
In 2004 there were just 64 patents filed by Apple. In 2007 Apple filed 405 patents.
Hubbard goes on to explain that by the time these patents went public Apple is likely to have already implemented them, or rejected the idea and moved onto something else. He notes: “Patent applications are kept secret for 18 months, at which time they are published unless the applicant … requests that it not be published.”
And it’s not just a gap of 18 months between a new idea and the revelation of the patent. It could be two years before Apple even files a patent in the first place, adds Hubbard, meaning that the idea may be almost four years old before we get to hear of it.
