Tech Shout!

Apple always seems to be getting tangled in patent infringing lawsuits especially since its products boast technical complexity. Now the company is caught in another such one.

A while ago, we had reported about a Chicago man suing Apple regarding the iPhone’s battery. This matter though trivial in nature demanded that Apple pay up a certain amount.

Now, a Florida-based firm is suing the iPhone maker, alleging that the handset’s touch-screen keyboard interface infringes upon a patent awarded to the company in 2004.

The company called SP Technologies wrote to Apple in late February regarding this patent infringement issue. Receiving no response, SP Technologi8es turned to a patent litigation-friendly federal court in Texas, where it filed a formal complaint against Apple.

The 4-page law suit charges that Apple iPhone keyboard interface treads on four claims that were outlined in an August 4, 2000 US patent titled “Method and medium for readable keyboard display incapable of user termination.”

This 7-year old filing describes “method of providing a user interface for receiving information from a user using a user immutable graphical keyboard linked to an input area, […] invoking the graphical keyboard on a touch screen display to receive input from a user, and […] maintaining the graphical keyboard on the touch screen display such that the user cannot move, resize, remove, or close the graphical keyboard through the user interface while the input area remains and requires input.”

SP Technologies argues that by selling and offering to sell its iPhone through AT&T and Apple stores located in the Texas district, Apple has and continues to commit acts of patent infringement.

The law firm wrote, “Apple’s advertisements, operating instructions and product description directs users to purchase and use the iPhone as called for in the asserted claims.”

SP Technologies is also seeking compensation for the number of iPhones sold so far, as well as a permanent injunction against Apple’s use of the patent in its hardware.

Apple has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

Earlier, Apple had already been sued by Cisco over the use of the iPhone name.