Quantum Research warns Apple over iPhone

“‘We will be looking very carefully at the iPhone,’ is the warning to Apple from Southampton-based touch sensor specialist Quantum Research, which already has one lawsuit proceeding against Apple for patent infringement, and is prepared to bring another,” David Manners reports for Electronics Weekly.

“‘The description of the iPhone suggests it uses a rear-surface touch screen, and has proximity sensing which can tell if it is held to the ear. That’s a QR capability,’ Duncan Bryan, licensing director at Quantum Research, told EW,” Manners reports.

Manners reports, “If Apple has used charge transfer technology, QR’s patented technology, to give the iPhone that capability, then Apple could be infringing the firm’s patent… QR is currently selling chips to Apple which it uses in products…”

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Judge Bork” for the heads up.]

Related article:
Quantum Research Group sues Apple over iPod Click Wheel charge-transfer tech – January 22, 2007

43 Comments

  1. Sorry MPC Guy. Just poking a little fun at you and your original posting . . . couldn’t resist. You have to admit, having “PC” in your name makes simple minds like mine jump at you pretty quick. Have a good one…

  2. <brealist

    They make chips and sensors. Is that good enough for you?</b>

    I’m wondering if they make devices tho. If that’s the extent of it, that Apple bought some chips and sensors, it can’t be possible for Quantum Research to have a claim on how Apple uses those chips. No one in their right mind would sign an agreement that says that anything I construct using basic components allows the provider of the basic components to have a claim on the finished product.

    Unless things have become even more strange than I thought, there is no way in hell that the provider of chip “A” can predict or cover all eventualities and combinations of basic components resulting in product “B”. It would be identical to intel suing Apple because Apple licensed intel’s CPUs and incorporated them into a finished computer.

    So, either there is far more to this than is evident, or Quantum Research is talking out of their a$$, or I am missing something.

  3. Well, they STOLE the name iPhone, what’s to stop Apple from stealing the damn interface. This is not an Apple thing, or Microsnot thing, this is business as usual in corporate Amerika. That’s what we have courts for. No body wins except the damn lawyers.

  4. BlankStare

    Well, they STOLE the name iPhone

    Can’t steal what was yours all along, or did Cisco et al start a collection of hardware and software products with “i” in front of everything?

    what’s to stop Apple from stealing the damn interface.

    The fact that the interface of the iPhone didn’t exist until Apple developed it.

  5. >doG wrote: You have to admit, having “PC” in your name makes simple minds like mine jump at you pretty quick. Have a good one…

    Yeah… My original nick was Mac & PC Guy, since I use whatever platform works for me – which is both… although OSX probably gets more like 98% with XP filling the other 2%. Hence the PC part of the name.

    It’s strange though, that little 2% can make such a huge difference in the way I interpret news and events as they relate to the Mac versus so many on the MDN boards.

    That 2% makes me the troll.

    Anyway… hope you have yourself a great day friend. Thanks for the note. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />

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