Feb
28
iPhone willful infringement?
Posted by Dirk Avery at 9:10 am under Litigation, Patent.
You know when your cell phone rings, you see the name of the person calling, if it’s one of your contacts? That technology was patented by Romek Figa. Apple’s iPhone includes the functionality but the company never secured a license. Figa is now suing Apple. (5-page complaint is here.)
Many of the posts I’ve seen about this (including this one and this one) suggest that this is a frivolous suit that threatens Apple and the consumer. However, what they fail to recognize is that many of Apple’s competitor’s are already licensing the technology. According to the Boston Globe’s Hiawatha Bray, Figa’s “patent is already licensed by many of Apple’s biggest competitors in the cellphone business.” The whole point of the patent system is to reward inventors for their inventions with a granted of a limited monopoly, i.e., the right to exclude companies like Apple from using technology without a license. That the invention now appears common place does not suggest it was obvious back in 1988 when the application was filed.
Of course, Apple will most likely challenge the validity of the patent. Should the court find the patent invalid, Apple will be off the hook and the other cell phone companies may be able to get out of their licenses. When complaints about the patent system are leveled at the very point of the system, it’s hard to take them seriously unless they also suggest we should abolish patents.