Apple's
iPhone found to infringe Sony, Nokia patents
A U.S.
federal jury verdict finds that the iPhone infringed three patents
By Martyn
Williams
December
13, 2012 04:05 PM ET
IDG News
Service - A federal jury in Delaware has found Apple's iPhone infringes on
three patents held by MobileMedia Ideas, a patent-holding company formed by
Sony, Nokia and MPEG LA.
The
jury's verdict in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware was
announced on Thursday and came after a seven-day trial and just a day of
deliberations. The jury found that the iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4 directly infringed
claims in U.S. patent 6,070,068, which was issued to Sony and covers a method
for controlling the connecting state of a call, U.S. patent 6,253,075, issued
to Nokia and which covers call rejection, and U.S. patent 6,427,078, also
issued to Nokia and which covers a data processing device.
A copy of
the completed jury verdict form was seen by IDG News Service.
Apple had
argued that all three patents were invalid, but the jury disagreed.
"We're
pleased that the court found infringement on all three patents and we think
that it's justified," a spokesman for MobileMedia said by phone. He said
the company plans to make a more detailed statement later.
Apple did
not immediately reply to a request for comment.
"What
you've got here is a patent licensing company squeezing the last juice out of
patents that have dates going back to the mid-nineties," said Christopher
Carani, a shareholder at the law firm McAndrews, Held & Malloy, who
specializes in design patents.
Patent
rights on U.S. patents last 20 years from the date of filing. Two of the
patents in the case were filed in 1997 and one in 1998.
"When
you have patent infringement there are basically two remedies," Carani
said. "Damages and injunction."
Carani said
he thinks MobileMedia stands a chance of being awarded damages, but only for
reasonable patent royalties. An injunction or damages on lost sales are
unlikely because the phones in question are old, and MobileMedia doesn't sell
phones so can't claim lost sales.
The
dispute dates back to March 2010, when MobileMedia Ideas filed its lawsuit
against Apple.
The
original complaint included 14 patents, including some claims against iPod
media players, but most of those claims were dropped as the case progressed
toward a trial. MobileMedia originally asked the court for an injunction
against sales of infringing products and damages.
MobileMedia
Ideas was formed in January 2010 when Sony and Nokia teamed with MPEG LA, a
patent licensing organization, to better exploit some of the patents held by
each company. A listing on MobileMedia's website of patents managed by the
company includes around 125 current U.S. patents.
Carani
thinks the victory against Apple could help MobileMedia in the future. The win
could persuade other companies approached by MobileMedia to negotiate a patent
license rather than risk a court case.
"Having
a finding like this will fill the coffers of a company like MobileMedia, and
they will continue their campaign. In the past, they've gone against RIM and
HTC. This is their M.O. (modus operandi)," he said.
The case
is MobileMedia Ideas v. Apple, 10-cv-258, at the U.S. District Court for the
District of Delaware.
Martyn
Williams covers mobile telecoms, Silicon Valley and general technology breaking
news for The IDG News Service. Follow Martyn on Twitter at @martyn_williams.
Martyn's e-mail address is martyn_williams@idg.com
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