Multitouch Patent-Infringement Lawsuit Against Apple?

Patent-infringement lawsuits hamper every industry, from breakfast cereals to cosmetics, but no where do they wreck as much havoc as the tech industry. So it goes with the potential patent-infringement lawsuit underway between Taiwan-based chip design company Elan Microelectronics and California-based consumer electronics monolith Apple.



Elan’s lawsuit alleges that several Apple products, including the MacBook, iPhone and iPod Touch, utilize technology that infringes on two of Elan’s patents. This comes as a surprise, considering that Apple patents every development whether or not it reaches actual production, leaving plenty of fodder for speculation forums like MacRumors and others to speculate potential products like the infamous, vaporware Apple Netbook and Apple Tablet.

Elan successfully won preliminary court injunctions against US competitor Synaptics in 2006 before settling through a cross-licensing agreement. Now, perhaps emboldened by their previous victory and spurred on by Apple’s staggering earnings taking place despite a shrinking, bearish market consumer electronics developers are competing in, Elan feels it has a case.

Of course, the story is made all the more interesting in light of the delicious irony that Apple was on the verge of suing Palm over multitouch patent-infringement in their upcoming Palm Pre. A simple reversal of fortune makes a story like this so much more exciting.

So, did Apple stumble and forget to apply for a few patents or are smaller developers like Elan simply trying to latch on to healthier companies like Apple amidst economic uncertainty and shrinking revenues? Good question, but one that will likely be asked again if the current climate persists and, more so, as the touchscreen market expands. Unfortunately, as Apple has yet to issue a response and the lawsuit itself has no set dates, the question could be months or years away from a proper answer.

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