Pharmaceutical Industry Overview

Another patent scandal: the striker went straight to Apple. The Taiwanese company Elan Microelectronics accused apple company of illegally using patented technology owned by it. In the center of the conflict – the patent, which describes the device with support for touch interfaces. As reported in the official press release  of the company, patent, registered in the U.S. Patent Office under number 5,825,352, relates to control devices with the help of two or more fingers. Elan has accused Apple of violating the patent in April of 2009 – then filed a lawsuit in a California district court. But the case is still pending in court.

Now, Elan filed a notice of infringement of its patent in the International Trade Commission (ITC). The requirements sound scary: a ban on imports into the United States devices iPhone, iPod Touch, Magic Mouse and MacBook, which illegally used its technology. According to lawyers Elan Microelectronics, the ban should extend to the iPad, whose sales in the United States began on April 3.

After receiving the statement Elan, International Trade Commission must decide on its review within 30 days. If the application for consideration ITC must declare a date by which she finished an investigation and make its decision. However, in the U.S. Apple is such a large taxpayer, it is unlikely that American authorities will meet the company Elan Microelectronics.

Here it is worth recalling that in early March, Apple lawyers themselves accused Taiwan-based HTC in the illegal use of its technology. It was a violation of 20 patents that describe the interface of iPhone. Also, Apple is now engaged in a similar patent litigation with the Finnish company Nokia.