Apple Sued Over iPhones Making Calls and Sending Email.
A total of six patent infringement claims were brought against Apple by Corydoras Technologies on May 20, according to Apple-tracking site Patently Apple, which obtained a copy of the lawsuit. The case was brought against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Corydoras is headquartered in Texas, where many similar companies that buy up or file their own patents and sue others for royalties operate. That’s mainly due to some success the companies have had in Texas courts.
According to Patently Apple, the counts against Apple cover every iPhone dating back to the iPhone 4 and every iPad dating back to the iPad 2. In addition to taking issue with Apple’s devices placing calls, the lawsuits also allege that the tech giant violates patents Corydoras holds related to video calling, which is similar to Apple’s FaceTime, as well as displaying a person’s geographic location through a feature like Find My iPhone and the ability to block unwanted calls.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the report. Corydoras is only listed as a limited liability company in Texas, but it does not appear to have a website or any other method of communication and was not contacted on its lawsuit.
Corydoras has been called a “patent troll” by Patently Apple, among other critics. The term is used to define a company that doesn’t actually sell anything, but buys up intellectual property designed by others (or invents its own technologies) to profit. While these companies are often viewed in a negative light and try to skim royalties off seemingly ridiculous features in some cases, it can pay off. Some patent trolls make millions each year off the sale of devices they don’t make.
For those companies, therefore, there is little risk. Patents can often be acquired for a small amount and a simple court filing is sometimes enough for major companies to settle out of court and pay a nominal royalty. Others like Apple, however, like to battle it out.
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source: www.fortune.com
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