Apple and Microsoft Face Touchpad Lawsuit
Apple, Microsoft, iriver and more are being sued over the touch technology used in their respective PMPs.
According to court documents filed, a small company called tsera is suing an array of companies for patent infringement. The Register cites the Texas-based company as saying it owns "all right, title and interest in" a patent for "Methods and apparatus for controlling a portable electronic device using a touchpad." As a result, Tsera says that a barrage of products on the market including Apple's iPod classic and nano, LG's Chocolate VX8500 and Microsoft's Zune utilize such technologies without its permission.
While there are roughly 20 companies named in the suit, it seems Tsera is focusing on Apple for "willful" infringement because it allegedly knew about the aforementioned patent infringement in 2004, a year after Tsera was awarded the patent. The company is seeking significant damages from Apple and royalties from everyone else named.
The patent includes MP3 players, portable radios, voice recorders and portable CD players. Tsera defines the touchpad technology as follows:
"A touchpad is mounted on the housing of the device, and a user enters commands by tracing patterns with his finger on a surface of the touchpad. No immediate visual feedback is provided as a command pattern is traced, and the user does not need to view the device to enter commands. A microcontroller within the device matches the pattern traced by the user against a plurality of preset patterns, each of which corresponds to a predefined function or command of the device. If the pattern traced by the user is a reasonably close match to any of the preset patterns, the device performs the predefined function corresponding to the matched pattern. The touchpad replaces the numerous buttons that are typically used to control portable electronic devices, thereby enhancing usability and reducing manufacturing costs."
The full patent is available here. So what's the verdict? Half-baked grabbing-attempt from Tsera or a genuine case for patent infringement? Let us know your thoughts below!
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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Shnur I think for the first time in patent infringement the company accusing is right. Let's just hope that it'll come out that Tsera will not just bank the cash like Rambus (the memory company that just sued every single company in the industry).Reply -
fooldog01 CamikaziThey were waiting for lots of big companies to make alot of money.Reply
Probably right. -
tomernatorII isn't there a time limit on suing for patent infringement for precisely this reason?Reply -
chuenl The paragraph is almost so generic. If you replace the first sentence with this: "A mouse is a device that contains an object or a sensor, and a user enters commands by tracing patterns by moving the mouse with his hand.", then it becomes another patent and one can use it to sue everybody!Reply -
chuenl The paragraph is almost so generic. If you replace the first sentence with this: "A mouse is a device that contains an object or a sensor, and a user enters commands by moving the mouse with his hand.", then it becomes another patent and one can use it to sue everybody!Reply