No one can argue with the fact that this was a banner year for Apple product launches. According to The Wall Street Journal, our favorite Cupertino-based company was also a high roller where filing patents was concerned too. In 2010, Apple managed to win 563 patents. Considering the fact that they only won a paltry 289 the year before, and a measly 186 patents in 2008. Still, given that most of us haven't patented, well anything, we feel a golf clap is in order.
The patents that Apple won last year spanned a wide range of tech from the easily recognizable, such as the multi-touch screens rocked by modern iOS devices, to the obscure, like Apple's patent for a "fast lossless encoder for digital analog data". While its tempting to think that this sudden burst of patent wins is the result the new tech seen in Apple's latest and greatest product line up, it isn't the case. Because of a number of considerations, including a constant backlog at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the bulk of the patents awarded to Apple last year were actually filed back in 2004 and 2005.
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