My week would not be complete if there wasn’t an Apple patent lawsuit to report on. Two weeks ago, Typhoon Touch Technologies added Apple along with Toshiba, Palm, Nokia, LG and other big name tech companies to a lawsuit, filed last year originally against Dell, regarding touch-screen technology. Apple was added, namely for it’s iPhone and iPod Touch devices which both use the patented technology. The lawsuit alleges the previously named companies and several others for violating the Typhoon’s 1995 and 1997 patents, which both broadly encompass all technology related to touch-screen devices and uses. Basically, Typhoon Technologies claims to hold the rights to any use of touch-screen technology, which means that any company currently using this technology without their permission is in violation of the patent. It may mean that any company currently using or wanting to use this technology will have to ask for permission through licensing and pay royalties for the rights. Seems like Typhoon could sit back and reel in payday after payday.
As with many trends that are seen and set through jury trials, the represented public may decide that such a broadly worded patent may not have originally meant to encompass so many different types of products, considering it was developed over a decade ago. Apple has the iPod touch and the iPhone, but let’s look at Nokia who has the N810 Internet Tablet and Palm’s Treo not to mention other notebooks and smart phones that include the revolutionary technology. Will this mean that Typhoon Touch Technology has a hold on the entire market for touch devices? This seems like it may be narrowing the scope on liberties that companies may take to revolutionize and keep up with the ever-changing times. A jury may decide that to rule in favor of Typhoon would be to give a golden key to the company, and instead they may award in defendants’ favor as it may be in the public’s best interest to narrow in on what was the original patent’s use. Otherwise, companies may be reluctant to continue to develop devices that use the touch technology if they are discouraged through the royalty payments to Typhoon. The jury may also decide that Typhoon as originator of the technology holds an all access pass for every other company and therefore may require licensing and payment of royalties for the technology’s use.
No matter what the validity of the case, Typhoon’s legal department reports that they could generate steady revenue by having royalties paid from the above-mentioned companies and several others in order to produce the devices that use the touch technology.
Typhoon is asking for not only financial damages but an injunction against the products in the stream of commerce and the companies involved must pay a “reasonable royalty” every three months in order to use the technology on said produced devices.
Information on this blog based on an article from www.appleinsider.com
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