The "lawsuit club"

There are so many major corporations suing each other over complete drivel nowadays that I've lost track of who is pointing the lawsuit-press-generator at who. Below is an aggregate from a few minutes of Googlin'. Kudos for the idea for the title goes to the NYTimes.

(Note: this is still a work in progress)

• Motorola Sues Apple

  • When: 10/6/2010

  • Type: Patent Infringement

  • Number of Patents: 18

  • Patent Claims Cover: Signal Protocols, 802.11 (wifi), antennas, wireless email, proximity sensing, software application management, location-based services and multi-device synchronization

  • Hilarious Company Claim: "After Apple's late entry into the telecommunications market, we engaged in lengthy negotiations, but Apple has refused to take a license. We had no choice but to file these complaints to halt Apple's continued infringement."

  • Responses:

  • Outcome:

  • Links:

    • http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/06/motorola-suing-apple-for-patent-infringement?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_engadget

• Microsoft Sues Motorola

  • When: 10/1/2010

  • Type: Patent Infringement

  • Number of Patents: 9

  • Patent Claims Cover: Android on Motorola's smartphones. email & calendar synchronization, battery charging, signal strength calculation, meeting scheduling.

  • Hilarious Company Statement: "We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market,”

  • Responses: None yet

  • Links:

    • http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/microsoft-activates-android-lawsuit-against-motorola/

• Oracle sues Google

  • When:

  • Type: Patent Infringement

  • Number of Patents:

  • Patent Claims Cover:

  • Hilarious Company Statement:

  • Responses:

  • Links:

• Apple Sues HTC (and threatens Google)

  • When: March 2010

  • Type: Patent Infringement

  • Number of Patents: 20

  • Patent Claims Cover: Interfaces, Gestures, Touchscreen Heuristics, How to Scroll On A TouchScreen, Undervolting to conserve power, "Object-Oriented Graphic System", OS Eventing systems,

  • Hilarious Company Statement: "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours"

  • Responses:

  • Google: "We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it"

  • Outcome: None yet

  • Links:

    • http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/apple-vs-htc-a-patent-breakdown/

    • http://www.osnews.com/story/22951/Google_HTC_Respond_to_Apple_Lawsuit

• Apple Sues Nokia

  • When: 9/28/10

  • Type: Patent Infringement

  • Number of Patents: 13

  • Hilarious Company Statement: ""Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours," Bruce Sewell, Apple's general counsel, said at the time."

  • Links:

    • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11435639

• Nokia Sues Apple

  • When: October 2009

  • Type: Patent Infringement

  • Number of Patents: 10

  • Patent Claims Cover: wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption.

  • Hilarious Company Statement: "Apple's refusal to respect Nokia's intellectual property and attempt to free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation," Nokia said in a statement"

  • Links:

    • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11435639

    • http://www.mobileburn.com/news.jsp?Id=10990

• Apple is sued for Cover Flow by Mirror Worlds

  • When: 2008

  • Outcome: Apple owes $208.5 Million

  • Links:

    • http://www.tuaw.com/2010/10/04/ouch-apple-dinged-for-208-5-million-in-patent-infringement-cas?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_engadget

    • http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/technology/05apple.html?_r=2