Yesterday, Apple was granted a patent for a Digital camera system having remote control. The patent specifically calls out existing products and patents, laying out improvements that are part of this patent.

For example:

It is known to provide rugged digital capture devices that can be secured to various objects, such as a bike helmet or scuba mask, or mounted to the handlebars of a motorcycle or the front of a surfboard. For example, the GoPro HD Hero2 digital cameras, sold by GoPro Inc, Half Moon Bay, Calif. are sold as part of an “Outdoor edition” package which includes various straps, pivot arms, and adhesive mounts to enable the digital camera to capture images while performing activities such as biking, skiing, skating and kayaking. However, the HD Hero2 camera includes only a single image capture system, which captures images using an optical axis directed outward from the “front” of the camera. This can cause excessive wind resistance and presents a high profile that is more susceptible to damage and image artifacts from vibrations in some situations.

It is truly amazing how much power Apple wields over the marketplace, how much scrutiny is placed on every decision Apple makes.

Consider:

This is a reasonably complex patent, with many examples showing features and improvements. The previous example is the only reference that mentions GoPro by name. A granted patent in no way means Apple has such a product in the pipeline. Yet, this single GoPro mention was enough to cause GoPro’s stock to drop about 15%.