Apple has yet another court case on their hands with Bloomberg reporting that Seattle-based Cequint Inc. is seeking unspecified damages related to claims Apple products infringe on caller ID related patents. The company also wants the court in Wilmington, Delaware, where the complaint was filed yesterday, to issue a court order preventing Apple from using the technology in dispute.
While we don’t have many more details regarding the case and Cequint’s claims, it’s important to note the company has close ties with major U.S. carriers, as well as Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone vendors. Verizon Android users might be familiar with Cequints caller ID tech, which currently powers the preinstalled City ID app. Cequint’s technology also powers T-Mobile’s Name ID service launched in July. All together, the tech is integrated into over thirty other handsets from platforms including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Android. Other companies Cequint is currently working with or lists as a partner– AT&T, Alltel, U.S. Cellular, Qualcomm, Casio, LG, Huawei, RIM, Sony, Casio, HTC, Motorola, Nokia, Google, and Samsung.
Both of the patents Cequint have presented to the courts are related to displaying caller ID data. One for “Caller ID equipment which displays location of caller” can be found here, and the other for a “Decoding and processing system for advanced determination of display of geographic information to a called party” here.
We’ll keep you updated when the case continues at the U.S. District Court in Delaware.
