In a counter complaint filed in California on Thursday, Apple seeks to nullify a new assertion from patent holdings firm Traxcell, which is suing the tech giant in Texas for alleged infringement of intellectual property covering navigation systems, reports AppleInsider.
Traxcell, a non-practicing entity (in other words, a “patent troll”), sued Apple in January on claims that the company’s Maps product infringes on two U.S. patents. The IP covers locating and providing directional assistance to devices on a mobile network and hardware that facilitates such capabilities.
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.
