# Apple Computer Inc — Patents explained on PatentBrief

Apple Computer Inc has 5 landmark patents explained in plain English on PatentBrief.

- [The Design Patent for the Original iPod Mini](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/D504889/ipod-click-wheel-design) — granted 2005
  This is a design patent protecting the specific physical appearance and shape of Apple's iPod Mini, which helped define the look of portable music players in the mid-2000s.
- [How Computers Automatically Detect and Act on Data Like Phone Numbers](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/5946647/system-and-method-for-performing-an-action-on-a-structure-in-computer-generated-data) — granted 1999
  Apple's 1999 patent describing how software can automatically recognize patterns like phone numbers or dates in text and offer relevant actions like calling or scheduling.
- [How Digital Sticky Notes Work Inside Computer Programs](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/5559942/mac-os-menu-bar) — granted 1996
  A 1993 Apple patent for attaching digital sticky notes to documents so they move and behave like regular text or images within an application.
- [How 3D Icons Rotate to Show More Information](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/5303388/macintosh-finder) — granted 1994
  A 1994 Apple patent for a 3D computer icon that can be rotated by clicking specific areas to reveal different sides, each containing extra information about a file or folder.
- [How Wozniak Made the Apple II Display Color Graphics](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4136359/apple-ii-personal-computer) — granted 1979
  Steve Wozniak's 1977 patent for a circuit that allowed a home computer to display stable, sharp color graphics on a standard television screen.

**Full profile:** https://patentbrief.org/company/apple-computer-inc

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_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Plain-English explanations of US patents._