Both companies have been working to further their control of intellectual property, and they've both been enjoying some good success; with Apple gaining NFC patents and Microsoft branching out into e-Book territory.  However, not everyone is so sure that these newly-acquired patents are necessarily good news for customers, or just for the businesses that now own them.  Either way, we can expect some more new info to surface within the week. 

Apple NFC Patent:

"Apple has been filing more than its fair share of NFC-related patents, but it was just granted what could be one of its more important wins at the USPTO. The design for an "on-the-go shopping list" app would help buyers find and pull the trigger on deals through every tool an iPhone has at its disposal, whether it's taking a snapshot of goods with the camera, punching in the UPC code by hand or tapping an item for an NFC-based "touch scan."

Microsoft e-Book Patent:

"We have ad-supported e-reading today, but the ads always sit on the periphery at most. That makes us more than slightly nervous about a newly-granted Microsoft patent for contextual e-book ads. The development would make the pitch based on not just targeted pages but the nature of the book in question: a sci-fi novel might try to sell lightsabers, and characters themselves might slip into the ads themselves if there's a fit. Promos could be either generated on the spot or remain static. Before anyone mourns the end of unspoiled literature, just remember that having a patent isn't the same as using it -- Microsoft doesn't have its own dedicated reading app anymore, let alone any warning signs that it's about to pepper our digital libraries with marketing."

Source: Engadget

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