Boston, MA 02/04/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been sued over its powerful A7 processor chip which features in iPhone 5S, iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina Display. The company is being taken to task over patent infringement by Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), which is the patent licensing firm of the University of Wisconsin.
Apple Inc first rolled out iPhones carrying the now controversial chip technology in September 2013. The chip makes iPhone 5S in which it debuted to have twice the CPU and graphics performance capability as the conventional chips used in smartphones. As a result, iPhone 5S beats its rivals hands-down as the best in class smart device for running almost everything one might need to do on a phone, a better still, its graphics offer unrivalled gaming experience; and all this while the battery life remains great. Thanks A7 processor.
With success of A7 processor in iPhone 5S, Apple Inc has now included it in its upgraded line of tablets, iPad Air and iPad Mini 2. These two latter devices went on sale in October 2013 and their performance has been nothing than great.
The big issue
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has obviously enjoyed having A7 processor in its devices, which by that virtue stand head and shoulder above the competition. Yet the company may have overlooked a very important legal protection around A7 technology. Due to that oversight, or perhaps lack of it, Apple Inc could end up embarrassed, and much more, financially impacted.
WARF is citing United States Patent No. 5,781,752 filed in 1998 to claim ownership of the technology on which A7 processor is based. In the lawsuit challenging the use of A7 processor in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices, WARF cites Andreas I. Moshovos, Terani N. Vijaykumar, Scott E. Breach and Gurindar S. Sohi as the inventors.
Moreover, WARF claims that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) willfully breached the patent given that it cites the same as relevant to its works. Yet it continues to benefit from the patent without de authorization.
So what?
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), according to the lawsuit, might be required to make financial compensation for the unlicensed use of the patent in question. This approach will be better on than a blanket ban on sale of devices bearing A7 processor if Apple Inc is found to have indeed violated the cited patent.
