Glass cube Apple store design gets patented

ICONIC LANDMARK: It has become a modern architectural icon, and now Apple's glass cube Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan has been officially patented.

It has become a modern architectural icon, and now Apple's glass cube Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan has been officially patented. 

Records show that the Cupertino tech giant was granted the patent earlier this week by the US Patent and Trademark Office, with the company's famous founder Steve Jobs listed as one of the building's inventors. 

The distinctive cube, designed and financed by Jobs, was originally built from 90 panes of glass, but Apple redesigned the structure in 2011 to reduce that number to just 15. 

The cube forms the entrance to the flagship store, and its patent will last for 14 years. Last year Apple was awarded a patent for the cylindrical glass entrance to its Shanghai megastore. 

Other signature design elements of Apple stores such as its glass staircases have also been trademarked by the US patent office. — AFP/Relaxnews 2014