[Edward Kirk]

A small company located in Nevada by the name of Typhoon Touch Technologies is claiming to have two patents dating back to 1995 and 1997 that they say prove that they invented the touch computer, describing a touchscreen device intended to be used by police. Allegedly, they are so broadly worded that all makers of remotely tablet-like devices, including Apple, infringe upon them.

The company claims that the lawsuit was initially started due to Dell for their Latitude XT tablet, but they have since added Apple, Fujitsu, HTC, Lenovo, LG, Nokia, Panasonic, Palm, Samsung, and Toshiba to the list. Sand Dude Ventures will also be added to the list as they leave negotiations.

Included on the list of devices they say violate the patents are the iPhone, HTC Touch, Lenovo's ThinkPad X-series, Nokia's N810 Internet Tablet and Palm's Treo handsets.

It's unclear how successful the lawsuit and jury trial will be, especially given that while some parts of the patents seem relevant, much of them reference outdated technology. At one point, one refers to using floppy and SCSI drives, neither of which are in use today, least of all by the devices named.

What we do know about the lawsuit is that Typhoon is hoping to use them to generate a steady stream of revenue, as they are seaking injunctions against the products involved until companies agree to pay a "reasonable royalty", on top of the financial damages they're asking for.

As usual, Apple has not commented on the lawsuit.

[via AppleInsider]

[TBoyTim]

they need to get a life

[iswenson]

apple's getting sued again. they are involved in so many lawsuits its preposterous.