Typhoon blasts Apple, Nokia, HTC and others with touch screen patent claim

By Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 08:52

Mobility

Typhoon Touch Technologies, which claims to own foundational intellectual property covering touch-screen computing, has filed suit against Apple, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Lenovo, Panasonic, HTC, Palm, Samsung, Nokia and LG alleging patent infringements.

The move represents the extension of a suit filed by Typhoon and its licensee and co-plaintiff, Nova Mobility Systems, against Dell in December 2007. Craig Weiner, a lawyer with New York based Hofheimer, Gartlir & Gross who acts as director of legal affairs and licensing for Typhoon, said: "Typhoon believes that numerous defendants are selling and/or offering for sale - what could be millions of devices - which may infringe Typhoon's patents."

Typhoon alleges that defendants have infringed and continue to infringe its US Patent No 5,379,057 issued January 3, 1995 and entitled "Portable Computer with Touch Screen and Computer System Employing Same," and US Patent No 5,675,362") issued October 7, 1997 and entitled "Portable Computer with Touch Screen and Computing System Employing Same," in a variety of portable computer products, including tablet PCs, slate PCs, handheld PCs, personal digital assistants, ultra mobile PCs and smart phones.

Typhoon and Nova have already had some success in similar actions: they have previously reached an out-of-court settlement with Motion Computing and recently completed a settlement with Electrovaya under which Electrovaya recognised the validity of Typhoon's patents, acknowledged infringement of one or more of the patent claims and made an undisclosed royalty payment of at least 20 percent on past and future sales of its Scribbler Tablet PCs in the United States.