Patent trollin’: Apple, Qualcomm sued by Red Rock for patent infringement

Another day, another lawsuit. Apple and Qualcomm have been hit with a lawsuit alleging that certain 5G technologies used by both companies infringe on an RF calibration patent, reports AppleInsider.

The article says that the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas Thursday, focuses on a handful of Qualcomm 5G wireless transceivers. It also goes after the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, which incorporates the infringing transceiver technology because they use Qualcomm 5G modems.

The plaintiff in the case is non-practicing entity Red Rock — in other words, a “patent troll.” 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.