Mikey Campbell
Apple is once again being taken to court for alleged patent infringement, as non-practicing entity Wyncomm claims the iPhone and iPad are in violation of a 16-year old AT&T patent pertaining to simultaneous voice and data transmission.
Patent holding company Wyncomm filed the suit in a Delaware district court on Thursday, alleging Apple's cellular products are in infringement of a Wi-Fi related patent. The complaint is targeting an Apple product features that allows a user to make a phone call and use Wi-Fi data at the same time, reports The Mac Observer.
The patent-in-suit, U.S. Patent No. 5,506,866 for "Side-channel communications in simultaneous voice and data transmission," was originally an AT&T invention granted protection by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1996.
As noted by The Essential Patent Blog, the property changed hands multiple times, including ownership by Lucent, AT&T subsidiary Paradyne, and two patent holding companies, before ending up with Wyncomm. The NPE, or "patent troll," is also asserting the same patent against Acer, ASUSTek, Blu Products, Bonac Innovation, and Casio, with complaint all filed on the same day.
With the patent expiring in November of 2013, Wyncomm is looking for a quick payout for past and "any continuing or future infringement" of the '866 patent, and does not appear to be seeking an injunction at this time. Damage amounts were unspecified and Apple has yet to comment on the matter.
Oliver Haslam
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63 Comments
despite the 50 plus claims, it seems the patent is based upon the use of side channel communications.
An entirely digital smartphone would not be using side channel methods at all. The Wifi is on an entirely different carrier frequency than the "voice" part. That is not sideband or side channel
I believe this complaint coincides with the definition of the term "patent troll"
Agreed. PSTN is another term for POTs or Plain Old Telephone lines. This is OLD land line patent that relates to things like T1, ISDN, etc.. How on earth they expect that to hold up if this is their only claim in the case? Usually it's spaghetti approach and see what sticks. lol
I have to wonder if THEY understand the tech patent they have. That would be funny. :D
Never know.. We've see people win lawsuits for coffee being to hot.. If they babble fast enough and confuse the jury, they might win anyway. lol
Another day, another 3 lawsuits against Apple. Wi-LAN sues Apple over Wi-Fi, HSPA wireless technology patents Apple sued over OS X Quick Look preview feature Apple sued by 'patent troll' over Numbers software
[quote name="henryaaron" url="/t/156946/apple-hit-with-patent-suit-over-simultaneous-voice-and-data-wi-fi-tech#post_2309847"]I believe this complaint coincides with the definition of the term "patent troll" [/quote] Yes. It's not like Apple has ever sued anyone for using their patents without licensing them first.