Here we go again. As noted by AppleInsider, patent holder VoIP-Pal has launched a new set of lawsuits against Apple, once more accusing the iPhone maker of infringing a collection of four voice over IP patents with the iMessage, FaceTime, and Wi-Fi Calling functions.
Filed yesterday at the U.S. District Court of Nevada, the suit by VoIP-Pal against Apple claims the tech giant infringes on a group of patents with exactly the same name: “Producing Routing Messages for Voice Over IP Communications.” Three were granted during 2017, the last was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in April 2018.
In February 2016, VoIP-Pal filed a lawsuit against Apple, as well as Verizon Wireless Services and AT&T. The complaints alleged infringement by Apple, Verizon and AT&T of various claims of Voip-Pal’s patents.
In November 2018 the Patent Trial and Appeal Board upheld multiple claims in two VoIP-Pal patents being leveraged in a patent infringement suit against Apple’s iMessage and certain Wi-Fi based voice-calling features. Apple’s lawyers say VoIP-Pal conducted ex-parte discussions with the case’s administrative judges, its chief judge and the cabinet secretary in charge of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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