Is an Apple TV back on the drawing boards? A patent deal between of all organisations, Harley Davidson & Apple, to acquire the rights to use the Lightning name for its new connection solution has revealed that Apple is looking to use the technology in TV sets and eyewear.Information discovered in Apple’s filings to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reveals that Apple has agreed a “partial transfer” of the Lightening name in Europe.
Apple claims they want to use the transfer technology in television sets, eyeglasses, speedometers, AV equipment, golf tees and vending machines.
The agreement will allow both companies to legally make use of the name, while preventing other parties from using the name to communicate “fast connectivity” between devices.
One passage from the filing to the USPTO reads: “This Class includes, in particular: amusement and game apparatus adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor.”
Apple’s Lightning cable and connector is based on an 8-pin, reversible solution, which replaced the 30-pin connector that Apple had used in portable devices in the past.
