Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) faces another patent infringement suit, but this time it has nothing to do with its competitor Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930). The two have been battling it out in courts all over the world. This new suit actually comes from the software firm Intertrust Technologies.
Reuters was one of the first to report that the lawsuit claims that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) infringed upon 15 different patents owned by Intertrust. The patents in question deal with security, and the suit deals with a number of iOS devices, including the iPhone, the iPad, Apple TV, Mac computers and even a number of Apple’s services, like iCloud, iTunes, and the App Store.
The Wall Street Journal notes that this could be another major case for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), in addition to the numerous cases between it and Samsung. That’s because Intertrust has some major backers, like Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (NYSE:PHG) (AMS:PHIA) and Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758).
The publication reports that each of the companies holds a 49.5 percent stake in Intertrust. Also Intertrust has enforced its patents successfully in the past. In 2004 Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) paid out $440 million in connection with a broad infringement lawsuit brought by the company.
Intertrust said its software and patents have been licensed to a number of large companies, including Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930), Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) and others. However, the firm said Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) did not come to an agreement for licensing for its patents.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
However in a statement, Intertrust CEO Talal Shamoon said, “Our patents are foundational to modern Internet security and trusted computing, and result from years of internal research and development. We are proud of our record of peaceful and constructive licensing with industry leaders. We find it regrettable that we are forced to seek court assistance to resolve this matter.”
