Tip UsDroplets Inc. who are a software company based in Plano, Texas have filed a lawsuit against Apple for infringing patents relating to interactive links to applications on its Apple website, movie trailer site, iTunes and other web applications.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Eastern Texas, who are well known for siding with the patent holders. Although you may not have heard of Droplets, they have some large clients including IBM, Borland and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Droplets claim Apple have infringed U.S. Patent No. 6,687,745, entitled “System and method for delivering a graphical user interface of remote applications over a thin bandwidth connection.” It relates to “interactive links for presenting applications,” which Droplets claim they invented. They filed for the patent in June 2000 and was granted in February 2004.
This isn’t the first time Apple have faced such a lawsuit over iTunes and their other web applications, they have faced many over the years and are the worlds most sued technology company. They have also been involved with many other lawsuits recently regarding their products, including lawsuits with HTC and Samsung.
The increase it patent lawsuits recently has meant technology companies have been calling for a change in the patent system and just recently the U.S. government passed a reform bill that will overhaul the nation’s patent system.
What exactly Droplets want from the lawsuit isn’t clear, it is expected they will be claiming for damages and licensing fees.
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