Apple sued over touch tech

Apple is facing a lawsuit over its increasingly central touch technology, Reuters writes. A Taiwanese chip design firm, Elan Microelectronics, has accused Apple of violating two touchscreen patents, said to be used in the displays of the iPhone and iPod touch, as well as the trackpads utilized in modern MacBooks. Elan claims to have successfully sued another company, Synaptics, for similar reasons.

Although Elan has not specified the amount of financial compensation it is seeking, the company is nevertheless calling for an injunction against infringing products. Such a ruling would prove crippling for Apple, blocking its major product lines until it could negotiate with Elan or incorporate alternate technology. In many such circumstances however, companies settle outside of court to avoid both large damages and the preceding legal fees.

by MacNN Staff