If there was an award for the silliest patent lawsuit against a major tech firm, the recent filing against Apple by Texas-based Corydoras Technologies LLC would have to be in the running for first prize.
Patently Apple reports the company, which by all indications apparently believes it owns the patent for “voice communications,” claims Apple’s iPhone infringes its patents by making phone calls, and sending emails! The company is also filing against the iPad for the same claims.
The Corydoras Technologies lawsuit file with the court states in-part that “Apple’s Accused iPhones and Accused iPads are capable of voice communication. For example, the Accused iPhones are made and sold with the capability to be used in telephone calls and FaceTime Audio calls. By way of further example, the Accused iPads are made and sold with the capability to be used in FaceTime Audio calls.
The company, who has filed identical claims against Samsung, also claims to own patents for ending & receiving emails wirelessly, front-facing cameras, call-blocking, and displaying a device’s geographic location. So, basically, many of the main functions of the modern smartphone.
9to5Mac notes the lawsuit claims that 20 Apple products infringe on its patents: the iPhone 4, 4S, 5, 5S, 5C, 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus and SE; and the iPad 2, iPad 3rd generation, iPad 4th generation, iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and iPad mini 4.
The case has been filed in, say it with me, the Texas Eastern District Court in Anderson County, where juries are quite friendly to this sort of crap, so we’ll see what happens. Hopefully, Judge Rodney Gilstrap will throw it out of court before it ever reaches a jury.
