A lawsuit filed in the frequent venue for patent trolls has surfaced, and is attacking Apple over basic telephony and communications in its mobile portfolio. While specific patents are named in the filing, the patents are very vague and cover such materials as cameras on the same side of the display, the ability to display the user’s location on a screen, email functionality, and the ability to perform phone calls through voice commands.
First reported by Patently Apple, the lawsuit, case number 2:2016cv00538 in the district, will be presided over by Judge Rodney Gilstrap, known for his supervision of the Smartflash versus Apple trial. No trial date has been set. The six patents that are “presumed valid” by the company at time of filing are patent numbers 7,778,664,7,945,236, 7,945,287, 7,996,037, 8,024,009, and 8,731,540.
MacNN made a brief consultation with a DC-based patent attorney, who called the series of patents “blatant in their obviousness” and “laughably obvious.” While the patents are in fact valid with the US Patent and Trade Office, they do not appear able to stand up to any challenge as they describe little more than ideas, and not specifically patentable inventions.
Complainant Corydoras Technologies filed a suit against Samsung, with very similar language, over the Korean company’s suite of devices. Corydoras was founded in 2006, and has a very limited presence, both in Texas, and on the web.
