‘Prior art’ may derail iPhone patent legal attack
Whether or not Palm and others are stealing Apple’s intellectual property may not be the point as enforcing the company’s patents could be more costly than a little competition, which has proven utterly inept to date. Moreover, there is evidence that if Cupertino does choose litigation, courts might find Apple doesn’t own the technologies it thinks it does.
In a write up entitled Apple May Use ‘Nuclear Arsenal’ to Delay iPhone Rival, Bloomberg details some of challenges Apple faces in the smartphone market, not the least of which is its treasure trove of patents and trademarks related to the iPhone and Mobile OS X.
Mutually assured destruction?
“The best deterrent of a nuclear arsenal is not to use it,” said Morgan Chu, patent lawyer, Irell & Manella. “If I believe there is a high probability of getting sued by going down a specific path, I may go down a different path.”
With Palm angling to steal Apple’s handheld thunder with the Pre, a device that many say amounts to little more than a blatant rip off of Mobile OS X and the iPhone, Apple may feel it has been backed into a legal corner and may be preparing to fight.
Thereupon, CNBC reports that if Tim Cook, who made none too veiled threats against companies “ripping off” Apple’s intellectual property, chooses the nuclear option, the ensuing battle could dangerous for a number of reasons, including invalidation of the company’s patent because of prior art.
Specifically, CNBC writes that the US Patent Office may have erred in its awarding of the Apple touch patent, that the firm’s research indicates that Apple’s patents may be in violation of a patent already awarded to the University of Delaware, and that if Apple proceeds with threatened litigation, it may end up with no protections of any kind when it comes to the multi-touch interface for both iPod and iPhone.
Talking the talk
All of this posturing and jockeying in the press is just so much window dressing. Will Apple sue to maintain its pre-eminent position in the smartphone market?
I’m thinking that is just one of the options they will choose…
What’s your take?
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