Apple Patents Retail Packaging System

Patents seem to be the new “ammunition” that companies hoard, as you can make quite a hefty amount through the courts when you have the right patents and others infringe on it, knowingly or otherwise. Well, Apple has its fair share of patents under lock and key, and today, the US Patent & Trademark Office published an Apple patent application that depicts what could very well be a new retail packaging system.

This particular system was meant to offer an Apple Store customer with the choice of customizing an iDevice’s content even when it remains nicely stashed away in the original packaging. Basically, the customer will select the iDevice of his or her choice, bring it to an in-store kiosk to hook up said device to the kiosk, customizing the content with iTunes and a variety of apps among others, paving the way for a truly personalized gift. Not only that, you can also opt to print out a custom label that has a message attached to it. Originally filed in the third quarter of 2011, it remains to be seen whether Apple will take advantage of this patent and flesh it out.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Apple
Tags: Patent