On April 3, 2008, the US Patent & Trademark Office published three distinct Apple iPhone related patent applications covering the topics of episodic gaming, application and/or website widgets and the touch screen related soft keyboard used for text messaging, email and the like.

Patent: Treatment of Episodic Games

The first of three iPhone related patents filed today relates to digital game assets and, more particularly, to treatment (such as marketing) of episodic digital game assets from an on-line media store responsive to user game playing activity.

Portable media players and other portable devices may provide, as either a primary function or a secondary function, the capability to play games. Such games may be provided in either a single or episodic fashion. Games’ being provided in an “episodic” fashion means that the games are provided as a series of episodes. Each episode is an independent game, but the series of episodes are related in some way.

Apple’s patent FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a data flow system to accomplish marketing of at least one subsequent game episode.

Apple’s patent presents a method in accordance with an aspect of the invention that may use information about how users have interacted with current and/or previous game episodes in the process of marketing subsequent game episodes. Information regarding a particular game player’s behavior with respect to playing a particular episode of a game may be generated, and the behavior information may be provided to a game episode commerce service. Based on the provided behavior information, the game episode commerce service may generate commerce information regarding at least one subsequent episode of the game. The commerce information may be processed with respect to the at least one subsequent episode.

For example, the generated commerce information may include an indication of an offer to purchase the at least one subsequent episode, and processing the commerce information with respect to the at least one subsequent episode includes completing the purchase of the at least one subsequent episode. As another example, the generated commerce information may include an indication of an enablement of use of the at least one subsequent episode by the particular game player, who has previously conducted commerce to pre-pay for the use of the at least one subsequent episode, and processing the commerce information includes enabling the use of the at least one subsequent episode by the particular game player. As yet another example, the generated commerce information may include an indication of customization of the at least one subsequent episode for the particular game player, and processing the commerce information such that the at least one subsequent episode is customized.

Apple lists Michael Dale Lampell (Novato, CA) and Stanley C. Ng (Los Altos, CA) as the inventors of this patent which was originally filed in September 2006 and first publically published today.

Patent: Graphical User Interface for Configuring and Displaying Widgets

Apple’s patent generally covers the topic of widgets used on an iPhone and/or iPod touch.

Apple’s Abstract A portable multifunction device displays a first widget on a touch screen and detects a first gesture on a settings icon on the first widget. In response to the first gesture, the device displays user-adjustable settings for a plurality of widgets, including settings for the first widget. The device detects one or more additional gestures to change one or more settings for one or more widgets in the plurality of widgets. In response to the additional gestures, the device changes one or more settings for other widgets, including changing one or more settings for a respective widget other than the first widget. Upon detecting a widget selection gesture and a finishing gesture on the touch screen, the device displays a second widget in the plurality of widgets other than the first widget.

Patent: Soft Keyboard Display for a Portable Multifunction Device

Apple’s patent generally covers the technology behind their iPhone’s touch screen based soft keyboard used for text messaging, email and the like.

Apple’s Abstract A computer-implemented method for displaying soft keyboards at a portable electronic device with a touch screen display is disclosed. An application with a plurality of objects is displayed on the touch screen display. A first gesture by a user on a first object in the plurality of objects is detected. In response to the first gesture, a first soft keyboard is displayed that contains a plurality of keys including primarily letter keys and including a key for selecting a second soft keyboard different from the first soft keyboard. A second gesture by the user on a second object in the plurality of objects is detected, the second object being other than the key for selecting the second soft keyboard. In response to the second gesture, the second soft keyboard is displayed, which contains a plurality of keys including number keys and including a key for selecting the first soft keyboard.

Apple lists Kenneth Kocienda (Sunnyvale, CA) and Ording Bas (San Francisco, CA) as the inventors of this patent which was originally filed in September 2007 and first publically published today.

NOTICE: MacNN presents only a brief summary of patents with associated graphic(s) for journalistic news purposes as each such patent application and/or grant is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trade Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any patent applications and/or grants should be read in its entirety for further details.

Written and researched by Neo.