Apple is being dragged to the court again over a patent row and this time by a Texas-based company called Corydoras Technologies, LLC, which is an infamous patent troll.
Corydoras Technologies is suing Apple for bizarre reasons such as imbibing email and call features on its iPhones and iPads. The company alleges that Apple infringed six patents it has acquired from Japan. Corydoras Technologies asserts that these acquired patents are "presumed valid."
This is not the first time Corydoras Technologies has cried foul over patent infringement. Earlier in March this year, it made similar allegations against Apple's rival Samsung.
The current patent lawsuit against Apple lists "Accused iPhones" and "Accused iPads" models that date back to 2010 per Patently Apple, which broke the news. Apple has been charged with infringement on six counts by the Texas-based company.
The complaint says that 20 models of iPads and iPhones infringe Corydoras Technologies' patents with regard to commonplace and essential functionalities for a mobile device such as camera, call blocking, video calling, phone calling, display of a geographic location and email.
"Apple's Accused iPhones and Accused iPads are capable of sending and receiving email. Apple's Accused iPhones and Accused iPads are capable of authoring an email based on input from a user and wirelessly transmitting such email to a recipient," notes the complaint in count 6.
Count 4 of the complaints asserts that the "Accused iPhones" are able to make "phone calls, FaceTime calls, and/or FaceTime Audio calls using voice commands."
The patents belonging to Corydoras Technologies which the lawsuit covers are as follows:
The Apple products which allegedly infringe Corydoras Technologies' patents are:
- iPhone 4
- iPhone 4S
- iPhone 5
- iPhone 5S
- iPhone 5C
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone 6S
- iPhone 6S Plus
- iPhone SE
The above are collectively called the "Accused iPhones." The tablets from Apple - collectively called "Accused iPads" - which infringe the patents owned by the Texas-based company are:
- iPad 2
- iPad 3rd generation
- iPad 4th generation
- iPad Pro
- iPad Air
- iPad Air 2
- iPad mini
- iPad mini 2
- iPad mini 3
- iPad mini 4
The case was filed on May 20 in the Texas Eastern District Court, Marshall Office in Anderson County. Judge Rodney Gilstrap is the presiding authority in this patent infringement case.
The amount Corydoras Technologies is seeking as a payout from Apple is not known.
