Near Field Communications Handsets and Tags, NFC Pilots and Projects

HID granted NFC-related patent

Monday, October 31, 2011

HID Global announced that the company and its parent, ASSA ABLOY, have been notified by the United States Patent Office that their patent, US 2008/0163361, titled “Method and Apparatus for Making a Decision on a Card,” has been allowed and will issue shortly.

This invention covers the use of portable credentials in a secure access network, where the access decision can be made within a portable credential – such as the secure element of a mobile device – using data and algorithms stored within the credential.


The patent complements an earlier patent, US 7,706,778, titled “System and Method for Remotely Assigning and Revoking Access Credentials Using a Near Field Communication Equipped Mobile Phone,” which was issued last year. Both patents are part of HID Global’s investment in developing mobile access solutions using NFC technology.

HID Global and ASSA ABLOY have created an extensive IP, product and service portfolios targeted at physical and logical access applications on traditional cards and readers, as well as emerging mobile access platforms including NFC-enabled smart phones and other portable devices. This portfolio also enables HID Global and ASSA ABLOY to continue to innovate and meet the growing demand for converged physical and logical access solutions that require a broad range of user authentication products and technologies.

ASSA ABLOY’s and HID Global’s patent portfolio consists of more than 500 issued worldwide patents and over 300 pending patent applications plus foreign patents and applications. The portfolio also includes IP from the company’s recent acquisitions of Lasercard and Actividentity, as well as ActivIdentity’s earlier acquisition of Corestreet, whose patent portfolio is also heavily oriented towards physical and logical access control. This patent portfolio addresses almost every major door, lock and access control market. [end] 

On Track Innovations has received a U.S. patent for adding contactless capability to existing mobile handsets through contactless SIM technology.

U.S. Patent No. 8,090,407, aka “Contactless Smart SIM,” covers the capabilities necessary to turn existing mobile handsets into NFC-enabled devices through the use of a SIM card and a specifically designed antenna, all while keeping the phone and operating system “fully agnostic,” says OTI.

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Microsoft Corp. has received a patent for a biometric-reading, pressure sensitive surface that can be used on a video game controller to enable user login by touch.

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DeviceFidelity has unveiled the latest addition to its lineup of NFC-enabled protective cases for the iPhone, the In2Pay iCaisse4X NFC.

When equipped with Device Fidelity’s In2Pay microSD, the iCaisse4X enables iPhone users to fully utilize NFC features such as card emulation, NFC tag reading and writing, mobile payments and peer-to-peer data exchange while offering an extended battery that provides several more hours of use.

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In an effort to sell and/or license part of its patent portfolio, Massachusetts-based Aware Inc. has signed an agreement to sell some of its patents and patent applications to Intel Corporation for $75 million.

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