No, it’s not April Fool’s Day. A company calling itself IP Innovation, LLC, is suing Apple for allegedly infringing mid-1970s user interface technology that was patented filed on behalf of Xerox PARC in, ahem…1991. Ars Technica has a pretty comprehensive run-down of the situation. This is the best bit:
Xerox did get around to suing Apple eventually in 1989, prompting Steve Jobs to dismiss the company as an organization so dysfunctional that they “couldn’t even sue anyone on time.”
IP Innovation has filed at least 32 patent-related lawsuits over the last few years. I love the guts behind the name, don’t you? “We let others innovate, then we buy the patents so we can sue even more successful companies!” I understand that they’re soon going to go after GE for infringing on Prometheus’s patent on light. In all seriousness, I’m a tremendous admirer of the innovators at Xerox PARC. Unfortunately, I really doubt any of them wills ee a dime if this frivolous lawsuit strikes gold.
Apple sued over vague user interface patent [Ars Technica]
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