“Apple doesn’t infringe two patents asserted by IPCom GmbH & Co KG, a court in Mannheim ruled today, without giving the reasoning for its decision,” Karin Matussek reports for Bloomberg. “The rulings are a blow to Munich-based patent holding company IPCom which has sued mobile-device makers over mobile technology it acquired from Robert Bosch GmbH in 2007. The “100” series patents, which also apply to technology for emergency calls, are the central piece of its portfolio.”
Not anymore.
Apple has recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to make it easier to collect attorneys’ fees from patent-holders who lose infringement suits.
Apple told the justices that the company faces 228 unresolved patent claims and employs two attorneys just to respond to letters that demand royalties. The iPad maker, based in Cupertino, California, says it has been sued 92 times by patent-assertion entities in the last three years, settling 51 cases, with most of the rest pending.
“Apple has rarely lost on the merits,” the company said in court papers. “But victory figures as small consolation because in every one of these cases, Apple has been forced to bear its legal fees.”
Today’ cases against Apple are: LG Mannheim, 2 O 53/12 and 2 O 95/13.
