Maxell sues Apple over navigation, camera & data tech patents

Posted:
in iPhone edited March 2019
Long-time magnetic storage and electronics maker Maxell on Friday launched a lawsuit against Apple, accusing it of violating 10 U.S. patents, some of them inherited from Hitachi.

Apple Maps


Three of the patents -- 6,748,317, 6,580,999, and 6,430,498 -- are connected to walking navigation, and Maxell cites features like Find My Friends and pedestrian routes in Apple Maps as infringements. A third patent, 8,339,493, involves Apple camera design, while a fourth (7,116,438) relates to wireless communication and AirDrop file transfers.

Also cited are Maxell's 6,408,193 covering cellphone technology, 6,928,306 for ring alerts, 6,329,794 for controlling power consumption, 10,212,586 for unlocking one device with another, and 10,084,991, which the company says is violated by FaceTime video calls and iTunes video.

A wide range of Apple devices are listed as infringing, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs up to 2018 models. The iPhone XS is repeatedly cited as an example in Maxell's complaint, filed through a U.S. District Court in Texarkana, Tex.

The company is seeking a jury trial, compensatory damages, and both preliminary and permanent injunctions.

"Since at least June 2013, Apple has been aware of Maxell's patents and has had
numerous meetings and interactions regarding its infringement of these patents," the complaint charges. "These meetings included Apple's representatives being provided with detailed information regarding Maxell's patents, the developed technology, and Apple's ongoing use of this patented technology. Through this process, Apple's representatives requested and received detailed explanations regarding Maxell's patents and allegations. Maxell believed that the parties could reach a mutually beneficial solution and to that end considered a potential business transaction and continued to answer multiple inquiries from Apple over the course of several years, including communicating with Apple as recently as late 2018."

Based on its track record Apple will mostly likely try to get the case dismissed or settled out of court, given the potential cost of losing a trial. This often succeeds, but Maxell is more prominent than most plaintiffs, and the company isn't immune -- earlier today a judge ruled against it a Qualcomm patent suit, awarding the latter $31 million in damages.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    I didn't know Maxell was even still in existence. I used to buy their blank cassette tapes and floppy discs twenty-five years ago. So now they’ve become a patent troll?
    AppleExposedkiehtanmwhitewilliamhigmxradarthekatviclauyycfotoformatqwerty52uniscape
  • Reply 2 of 21
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    Haven't heard that name in a while.


    Maybe Apple should buy Maxell for 10 bucks! The same price of a stack of blank CDs.
    kiehtanigmxdhawkins541radarthekatqwerty52uraharapbruttoravnorodomcornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 21
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member
    Really hard to take Apple's side if there have been discussions ongoing for 5 years. But, in my mind, the question is always "Is it theft?" if two engineers come up with the same idea without knowing about each other's patents? For these patent holders to describe that as theft is really a reach, in my opinion. I firmly believe the patent system is broken. I think the ultimate solution is for patents to allow multiple registrations, but then how would patent holders profit? The system does not support how the human mind works.
    viclauyycqwerty52jbdragonpbruttoCarnagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 21
    smsmsmsm Posts: 12member
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?
  • Reply 5 of 21
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    smsm said:
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?

    Don't buy them. Buy a knockoff Apple product instead.
    mwhitewilliamhigmxviclauyycfotoformatqwerty52uraharauniscapepbruttoravnorodom
  • Reply 6 of 21
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    Really hard to take Apple's side if there have been discussions ongoing for 5 years. But, in my mind, the question is always "Is it theft?" if two engineers come up with the same idea without knowing about each other's patents? For these patent holders to describe that as theft is really a reach, in my opinion. I firmly believe the patent system is broken. I think the ultimate solution is for patents to allow multiple registrations, but then how would patent holders profit? The system does not support how the human mind works.
    "Discussions".
    Maxell "Pay us" 
    Apple "Uh, no you have no patents that even vaguely impact us."
    Maxel "Pay us"
    Apple "No"
    ...repeat for five years...
    Maxell "Apple has been negotiating in bat faith for five years"
    smsm said:
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?
    Apple has deep pockets so there';s a target on their back. A few are justified. Most are not.
    edited March 2019 AppleExposedmwhitedhawkins541radarthekatqwerty52uraharapbruttowatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 7 of 21
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    In other news, “Maxell Still Exists”
    williamhigmxradarthekatviclauyycjbdragonravnorodomCarnageteejay2012watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 8 of 21
    smsm said:
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?
    You don’t have to buy apples.....go get android and you be done w it,,,,,quit whining 
    mwhiteigmxradarthekatdanhqwerty52jbdragonpbruttoravnorodomwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 9 of 21
    smsm said:
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?
    Silly Troll! You don’t buy Apple products, you hang out under a bridge and try to harass people. 

    Nunzy is that you??
    mwhiteqwerty52watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 10 of 21
    igmxigmx Posts: 6member
    smsm said:
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?
    You do know this is an Apple-centric website, right? The are other Android/Windows websites you can whine your silly assumptions on.
    radarthekatqwerty52uraharapbruttowatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 11 of 21
    viclauyycviclauyyc Posts: 849member
    sdw2001 said:
    In other news, “Maxell Still Exists”
    This is more shocking than Apple being sue by another guy.
    jbdragonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 21
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    smsm said:
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?
    You are wearing horse blinders. We hear about lawsuits against Apple because this site and others concentrate on Apple rumors and news. Rest assured other large tech companies are sued on a daily basis too for the same reasons. We rarely hear about those lawsuits because nobody really cares, it’s business as usual. Maxell is suing Apple because Apple resisted its claim of patent infringement. And by the way Maxell did not invent or “innovate” these patents, they bought them from somebody in hopes if cashing in. While other companies tend to settle these claims without legal actions, Apple tends to fight them if it believes it is being shaken down. So go right ahead and believe Apple is a thief if you like. Discard your Apple gear and buy something else if it will soothe your conscience. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 21
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    Company like IBM file largest number of patents every year even though many of them have directly nothing to do with products being developed.  Why ? Same reason. No one can sue you and you sue if someone violate and give leverage for cross licensing.
    Apple will have to buy patents portfolios,cross license, file left and right patents,etc to protect itself from future law suits.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 21
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    wood1208 said:
    Company like IBM file largest number of patents every year even though many of them have directly nothing to do with products being developed.  Why ? Same reason. No one can sue you and you sue if someone violate and give leverage for cross licensing.
    Apple will have to buy patents portfolios,cross license, file left and right patents,etc to protect itself from future law suits.
    Supposedly this was one of the reasons that Google bought Motorola.   For its patent portfolio.   It begs the question is the same offending tech in Samsung and other Android phones and is Maxwell also sueing them?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 21
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Does Maxell have the development of their patents into products by any chance?  I suspect not.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 21
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    k2kw said:
    wood1208 said:
    Company like IBM file largest number of patents every year even though many of them have directly nothing to do with products being developed.  Why ? Same reason. No one can sue you and you sue if someone violate and give leverage for cross licensing.
    Apple will have to buy patents portfolios,cross license, file left and right patents,etc to protect itself from future law suits.
    Supposedly this was one of the reasons that Google bought Motorola.   For its patent portfolio.   It begs the question is the same offending tech in Samsung and other Android phones and is Maxwell also sueing them?
    Probably hoping the Goog buys them for the patents.
    cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 21
    longfanglongfang Posts: 445member
    smsm said:
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?

    Don't buy them. Buy a knockoff Apple product instead.
    Why would I punish myself like that?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 21
    They have a patent for walking navigation? If apples patent lawsuit against Samsung for things like pinch to zoom and swipe to unlock didn’t hold up in court I don’t see any way a patent for giving someone walking directions from one location to another can hold. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 21
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Eh, fuck Honeywell. Launching a smart thermostat in 2019 without Homekit support? Not that it's surprising. They've been sitting on their ass and deserve to go the way of the Blackberry.
    smsm said:
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?
    No, please don't. They don't fucking need you. While you're at it, maybe you can stop your sad, pathetic little trolling as delete your account as well. If you actually take a rational look at Apple's products, and what all competitors release shortly after, and conclude that Apple are the thieves, then there's something really screwed up in your head.
    edited March 2019 cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 21
    metrixmetrix Posts: 256member
    smsm said:
    With so many lawsuits against Apple for intellectual property theft. I am starting to believe that Apple are thieves instead of innovators. Should I keep buying products from Apple and am I aiding their continued thefts in pursuit of profits?
    More like EU saying “who has the most money we could grab and how can we claim it”
    watto_cobra
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