“The smartphone patent wars have lit up courtrooms around the world. Next up: the smartphone case wars,” Erin Geiger Smith reports for Reuters. “The makers of protective cases that shield cell phones from coffee spills and sticky-fingered toddlers are entangled in countless lawsuits seeking to protect their designs… The smartphone case market has become a roughly $1 billion annual industry, according to NPD Group, a market research firm.”

Smith reports, “Otter Products Inc, the maker of OtterBox cases, has become a frequent visitor to the courthouse. The Colorado-based company has filed lawsuits in federal court in its home state against LifeProof, also known as Treefrog Developments Inc, and Mophie LLC for alleged patent infringement involving waterproof cases for iPhones, iPods and other devices. Mophie and LifeProof in court papers have denied the allegations.”

“The Ballistic Case Co, based in Florida, has also been a repeat plaintiff,” Smith reports. “The company has sued rivals Cell-Nerds LLC and Boxwave Corp for allegedly copying the look of its rugged ‘Shell Gel’ series of cases, which feature a dotted back and come in an array of colors.”

Read more in the full article here.</stron

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "JES42" for the heads up.]