“Touchpad technologies company Elan Microelectronics Corps’ complaint to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) came ahead of Apple’s launch of the iPad, a much-anticipated touchscreen tablet computer, scheduled for Saturday,” AFP reports. “The design company claimed Apple is infringing on patents regarding touch-sensitive input devices with the ability to detect the simultaneous presence of two or more fingers.”
“The patents are violated in the iPhone, iPod Touch, MacBook and Magic Mouse products as well as the new iPad, Elan said,” AFP reports. “Elan demanded that the ITC bar Apple from importing the products into the United States, which are manufactured overseas, and prevent it from selling any of the products in the United States that it has already imported. The ITC will decide whether it will institute an investigation within 30 days, it said.”
Full article here.
Tim Culpan reports for Bloomberg, “The ITC is a government agency set up to protect U.S. markets from unfair trade practices. If it agrees to investigate Elan’s complaint, it could finish its work in about 15 months.”
“Elan also sued Apple in April 2009 in federal court in California claiming infringement of the same patent,” Culpan reports. “That patent was affirmed after a California district court found Synaptics Inc. infringed that same technology in a 2008 ruling, Elan said. Elan had also claimed another patent was infringed in that lawsuit.”
Culpan reports, “The ITC claim is In the Matter of Certain Electronic Devices with Multi-Touch Enabled Touchpads and Touchscreens, No. 2719, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington).
Full article here.
Last I checked, Apple has been selling iPhones and iPod Touches with touchscreens since 2007. Where has Elan been since then?
Elan is just an attention whore out for publicity right before the iPad debut.
@Sarasota –
Yeah, you wonder if these people have been living in a cave all these years. You’d expect “no” since they have tech patents
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Hmmm, a Chinese company suing an American company for swiping *their* IP? That’s rich.
Are they comparing Apples to apples?
Just buy the company and then close it down. Geez!
That is or If they have a patent(s) that will weaken or even undo Apple’s muti touch patent(s).
Yup, uh-huh. Be right with you..
Let’s see, Elan wants to shut the iPod/iPad in three days. The ITC cannot even decide whether to investigate until after 30 days, then another 15 months to reach a ruling. Not much of a threat for the introduction. Where will the iPad be in 16 months? Huge.
They know they don’t have a chance, what this is (likely financed by another, larger, entity) is an attempt to get apple to resort to “prior art” (remember that Apple was doing tablet and multi touch R&D;all the way back to 1988 (the pad, the knowledge navigator and the newton) They actually had a prototype product very similar to the iPad waaaay back in ’89 (it actually actually included the electronic newspaper/magazine concept, but at the time they though you would get a data card (credit card sized) in the mail rather than the bulk magazine) But during the “carbonated sugar water years” their follow through (to patent) was poor.
If they succeed in getting apple to claim this is prior art, based on it’s own published R&D;, it increases the possibilities of ripping off of Apple’s less strongly protected IP by “less creative” companies.
Apple has 40 billion in the bank. See what’s in the portfolio and if it’s close by it with spare change. Then fire the bastards!
by “Taiwanese Company” do you mean HTC?
I can see in the near future CRAPPLE will get hit by multiple patent lawsuits from various companies around the world for infridgement over their IP. Like I have said no one is above the law and this inferior company is no exception.
http://www.bing.com When it comes to decisions that matter, Bing & Decide
@ Uncle Fester’s Cousin
I believe you are referring to the tablet design concepts done by Fast Company a little over twenty years ago.
http://www.fastcompany.com/1598501/smart-designs-ipad-circa-1989
Just to be clear, they were not prototypes but rather concepts… I wonder what else Apple has sitting on a shelf gathering dust… I do know Commodore made a “Commodore 65″, complete with 3.5” DS/DD drive, faster processor and more color support. Actually held one in hands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_65
Time to bring back production of these goods to the USA.
I’m sick of these thieves taking our jobs and then suing when they have nothing else to do.
Bunch of losers. Bring it home Apple.
why is this even acknowledged, people really need to do better things with their time.
Taiwan is not China. Second, Synaptics hasn’t made iPod scrollwheels for a while. Did they also do Macbook trackpads? Anyhow, I would think if there had been a prior case against Synaptics, then Apple would absolutely have paid attention and avoided any conflict, so I would rate this suit as pretty weak. Either that, or Apple is extremely stupid, and we know that isn’t the case.
@KenC – China would disagree with you. My Taiwanese friends would mostly disagree with you. They know how much the island depends on the mainland for tourism and business.
@I’m a PC – Nice one. Stupid troll comment completely out of context. Go see Ballmer. Throw a chair.
Elan’s claims won’t stop the ipad. Manufacturing in the US won’t avoid the issue, either, @Me in LA…
Apple has lawyers and will deal with it. Nothing to see here. Move along…
A company is not likely to get sued for patent infringement unless it is successful. In general, the people crawling out of the woodwork to sue Apple are just societal parasites looking for a free ride to easy money on someone else’s back.
It isn’t even clear to me that Apple’s patents are valid and supportable, much less anyone else’s. Many of them seem rather broad and obvious, and few seem to be matured to a successful implementation. But when someone does, look out for the lawsuits.
The intent of the patent system is to reward and incentivize invention and innovation to accelerate progress. But is the system breaking down?
@ jjjj,
You’ve missed my point. I am sick of these people profiting from our manufacturing sent to them, while the continually bite the same hands that feed them.
I want jobs back here, production back here.
I’ll pay more.
Apple’s Defense Pdf
where Apple cites defenses from non infringement to expiry of statue of limitations.
link:
“http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/appleresponsetoelan.pdf?tag=col1;post-32542”
I read the patent, I most especially enjoyed the last line:
It is therefore intended that the invention not be limited by the foregoing description, but only by the appended claims.
Which is to say, it’s not only what we made up here, it’s anything else I can add on later! Their patent app is not about the actual touch screen device, it’s the movement of the finger/s screen.
@ Me in LA
I agree with you young sir/madam,
although I live in the uk I consider Apple to be a US company and I too would pay extra for Apple products produced in the US from parts produced in the US.
“You’ve missed my point. I am sick of these people profiting from our manufacturing sent to them, while the continually bite the same hands that feed them.
I want jobs back here, production back here.
I’ll pay more.”
You’re surprised that Taiwan, the country that knows how to make everything… is making stuff? Get real.
Apple is #4 in marketcap American Publically Listed companies
This is a cash grab against a rich company. From the land of lawsuits you shouldn’t really complain.
One of your white trash countrymen
http://vodpod.com/watch/3304546-daughter-suing-abcs-wife-swap-for-100-million
You should welcome the competition instead to whining.
Elan is just trying to get rich off of a patent they never used in real technology like many others out there. That’s where patent laws need to changed. If you don’t have a full working product, you should not have any rights to any such patent. Besides Apple has it’s own patents, I believe Jobs said 200 plus on the technology.
iPhone and the iPod touch have been out several years using multi-touch, Apple’s patented touch feature by the way Elan. No company has come before and said anything. Apple’s Portables and the new Magic mouse also have multi-touch, Elan didn’t come forward at that time either. So we know there blowing smoke.