Patent trollin’: non-practicing entity Smart Mobile sues Apple for patent infringement

Another day, another lawsuit. As noted by AppleInsider, non-practicing entity, Smart Mobile (a “patent troll,” in my opinions) is suing Apple. The allegation is that the tech giant’s products that support Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity infringe on a set of wireless communication patents.

The complaint was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. It claims that Apple products such as iPhones and iPads infringe on specific claims in 13 different patents owned by 

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.Smart Mobile, LLC.

In other legal news — also as noted by AppleInsider — the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a lower court decision to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the dual-camera setup of certain iPhone models infringed on existing patents. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 2018 and targeted both Apple and Samsung. It named plaintiffs Yanbin Yu and Zhongxuan Zhang, who alleged that Apple’s dual-camera iPhone solution infringed on an invention they developed in 1999.