Apple Files Patent For Digital Wallet and Virtual Currency 84
another random user writes "Apple has applied for a patent on a combined virtual currency and digital wallet technology that would allow you to store money in the cloud, make payments with your iPhone, and maybe communicate with point-of-sale terminals via NFC. The patent application, published [Thursday] by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Organization, details how iPhone users could walk into a store, pay for goods with their phone, and walk out with their merchandise. Though Apple is late to the virtual wallet game, that doesn't seem to stop them trying to patent the process. There does not appear to be anything in the patent application which describes something that can't already be done."
First to file vs first to invent (Score:5, Informative)
Caveat: This is the engineers understanding of the patent process as explained by the legal department. I won't bet even two cents on it being right.
Re:Existing Tech (Score:4, Informative)
'Erm', it's called a Japanese cell phone from several years ago.
Slashdot misunderstands value of patents (Score:4, Informative)
1 - Apple gets patent
2 - Apple sells patent to Irish subsidiary for small amount of money
3 - Apple comes out with iPhone that incorporates patented technology.
4 - Apple pays subsidiary royalty on patent for each iPhone sold
In this way, Apple moves profit on iPhone sales from Apple itself to the subsidiary. The subsidiary is incorporated in Ireland, so it is not taxable in the US. The subsidiary's major operations are in the US, so it is not taxable in Ireland.
Profit!! Tax-free!!
Patents are no longer an IP strategy. They're a tax avoidance strategy.
Re:Slashdot misunderstands value of patents (Score:4, Informative)