EMG Technology, LLC, a company of one, on Monday filed a formal complaint accusing Apple of patent violation through "the way the iPhone navigates the Internet."
Opportunistic patent troll or inventor who has been stolen from?
Why is a real estate developer, Elliot Gottfurcht, who started EMG to hold a newly purchased patent, suing Apple over its Mobile Safari patent? Does he have any right to the technology that Apple used to build what is considered by many to be the leading mobile browser?
As a background, Elliot Gottfurcht was the original developer of Beverly Park, which sits atop the Beverly Hills Hotel, the 800-home Beverly Glen Park, and the Carriage House, which is now the Westwood Village "W" Hotel.
He's got a few bucks laying around to put into a lawsuit against Apple.
The patent in question, U.S. Patent number 7,441,196, describes an “Apparatus and method of manipulating a region on a wireless device screen for viewing, zooming and scrolling internet content.” It was filed on March 13, 2006, and was granted on October 21, 2008.
The suit was filed in the Eastern District of Texas, which is famous for its siding with patent holders over the companies who they are suing.
Apple is widely believed to have been working on the Safari Pad five years ago, and shouldn't have much problem proving prior art. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems likely that Mr. Gottfurcht is looking for a quick payout on his patent from Apple.
Apple, of course, doesn't comment on ongoing litigation.
Source : http://blogs.computerworld.com/apple_said_to_be_violating_patent_with_iphone_safari
