This is getting ridiculous. As noted by AppleInsider, “patent troll” Uniloc is back, this time suing Apple for allegedly violating its assigned patent detailing the configuration of a device when it initially connects to a wireless network.
The lawsuit involves U.S. Patent No. 6,856,616 for a “System and method for providing service provider configurations for telephones using a central server in a data network telephony system,” covers provisioning a “telephone” for use on a mobile data network using an identifying part number, or device identifier.
The Australia-based company has sued Apple numerous times on dubious claims. A “patent troll” is an individual or an organization that purchases and holds patents for unscrupulous purposes such as stifling competition or launching patent infringement suits. In legal terms, a patent troll is a type of non-practicing entity: someone who holds a patent but is not involved in the design or manufacture of any product or process associated with that patent.
