iPhone World:
Apple faces yet another legal battle over the iPhone concept and technology. This time it’s Minerva Industries, which targeted not only Apple but also RIM, and a satellite phone company, Atlantic RT Inc. among others, with one of three lawsuits filed on Tuesday, after just beating out rival patents filed by Apple itself.
The patent in question, USPTO patent No. 7,321,783, gives a brief description of a “mobile entertainment and communication deviceâ€, and outlines a palm-sized device used “for recording data directly from the Internet†that “also includes a camera and microphone for recording images and soundâ€.
Minerva believes that Apple was keeping tabs on their patent application (which records show was filed in November of 2003), and waited until the last minute to provide prior art concepts in an attempt to hinder this application, while boosting one of its own claims. Minerva states they informed Apple of their patent application last November.
Both sides were reviewed by the US Patent Board which ruled in Minerva’s favor, determining that their device was patentable. Minerva claims that Apple’s attempt at claiming its patent invalid has caused them to “[suffer] monetary damages in an amount not yet determinedâ€. In addition to paying said damages, they are also seeking a permanent injunction stopping Apple from further infringement on Minerva’s patent.
The other two Minerva Technologies lawsuits filed that day target 31 defendants in total, including Research in Motion, AT&T Mobility, LG, Palm, and Motorola.
Thanks: Apple Insider
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Written by Chantelle on January 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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iPhone World:
Does iPhone break European consumer-protection law? It seems that’s up to individual countries to decide.
Apple avoided a major trouble in the European Union after European consumer protection commissioner Meglena Kuneva decided that national courts have to deal with Apple’s exclusive iPhone distribution contracts in Europe.
She was asked by Said El Khadraoui, a European Parliament member who is a Belgian socialist (interesting part is that the iPhone was not even announced for Belgium as of yet), whether Apple’s exclusive contracts with carriers break the European consumer-protection law.
Mr El Khadraoui stated “I’d like to urge the commission to start talks with Apple to signal the difficulty they may have with this. The commission could give a clear signal to Apple and tell them that this isn’t a good situation from a consumer-protection point of view,” although it seems his effort has failed.
Last year French courts decided that French Apple iPhone distributor Orange has to offer unlocked versions of the device to consumers, while German courts decided that German iPhone distributor T-Mobile can offer the iPhone exclusively.
Thanks: International Herald Tribune
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Written by dennis on January 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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One of Apple’s co-defendants in a patent-infringement case has reached a settlement. SimulScribe came to an agreement with Klausner Technologies, whom were seeking $360 million in damages. They claimed in court last December that AT&T, Apple and others, were infringing on patents they own with the Visual Voicemail function on the iPhone.
With the settlement from SimulScribe comes renewed pressure on Apple to reach an out of court settlement of their own.
Thanks: Macworld.co.uk
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Written by Chantelle on January 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
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A conclusion was reached in the case of Vodafone vs. T-Mobile regarding iPhone’s distribution in Germany. The decision in this case was supposed to come yesterday, but it was delayed by the judges until today.
The whole thing of course started when Vodafone accused T-Mobile of monopoly due to the fact that T-Mobile implemented the standard Apple business model for the iPhone in Germany, which consists of selling locked handsets through one exclusive mobile service provider in each territory.
Vodafone, which was previously very keen on being the exclusive European iPhone distributor while subsequently failing in that bid, even managed to obtain a court injunction against T-Mobile, ordering the latter to sell both locked and unlocked iPhones.
However, today’s decision means that it’s the end of the line for Vodafone’s iPhone ambitions, at least in Germany, as Reuters reports that a German court ruled that T-Mobile may continue to offer locked iPhones with binding mobile service contracts.
And although this lawsuit is now over, there’s quite a few more iPhone related lawsuits of all kinds coming up… Just check out our iPhone lawsuits news archive.
Written by dennis on December 4th, 2007 with no comments.
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Klausner Technologies Inc. filled a $360-million suit against Apple and AT&T over a voicemail patent this Monday.
Klausner said that the iPhone technology infringes Klausner’s visual voicemail patent. Same patent was infringed in 2006, when Klausner filed a lawsuit against VoIP provider Vonage, with both sides agreeing to settle the case in October 2007. Vonage had to buy a license from Klausner for voicemail technology in question.
It is interesting to note that Cablevision’s Optimum Voicemail, Comcast’s Digital Voice Voicemail and eBay’s Skype Voicemail also violate Klausners patent by allowing users to listen to their messages in the order of their choice via message inbox display.
Apple’s representatives did not comment on this issue as of yet.
There are other ongoing disputes which Apple hasn’t solved yet, so their laywers are sure to have a busy and well paid time.
Thanks: Reuters
Written by David on December 4th, 2007 with no comments.
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