This sounds like Facebook is planning on using the patent as a defensive move, to protect against lawsuits from other patent-holders.

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If you're planning to file a traditional patent anyway, getting a provisional patent is not a wasted step, as much of the paperwork is similar.

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In other Apple retail stores news, the company filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office that covers the planning and layout of an Apple store.

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David holds three U.S. patents and has a patent pending for Mainstay Capital Management's proprietary Waypoint Retirement Planning System.

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According to the FOSSPatents blog, which has closely monitored the patent dispute between Apple and Samsung, well-sourced media in South Korea claim that executives from Samsung have been planning for at least two weeks to launch some sort of legal complaint against the latest iPhone, immediately after its launch.

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