Apple hit by Haptic feedback patent suit by Immersion
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Posted on 02/11/2016 8:02:15 PM PST by Swordmaker
Immersion Corporation today announced that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against Apple Inc., AT&T Inc., and AT&T Mobility LLC. Immersion has also filed a patent infringement complaint against Apple, AT&T and AT&T Mobility in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The complaints allege that the Apple iPhone 6, Apple iPhone 6 Plus, Apple iPhone 6s, Apple iPhone 6s Plus, Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition infringe certain Immersion patents covering haptic feedback systems and methods in electronic devices.
"Immersion and its employees have worked diligently for over 20 years to invent solutions and build an ecosystem of content and playback devices that enable realistic and rich digital experiences. Touch matters, as it informs, excites and humanizes the digital world we interact with every day. Many of our licensed customers are market leaders that benefit from our innovation in touch technology," said Immersion's CEO Victor Viegas in a statement.
"While we are pleased to see others in the industry recognize the value of haptic and adopt it in their products, it is important for us to protect our business against infringement of our intellectual property in order to preserve the ecosystem we have built and the investments that we have made in continuing to advance haptic experiences," added Viegas. "We will vigorously defend the intellectual property we have developed when it is infringed."
In the ITC complaint, Immersion is seeking an exclusion order preventing the importation, sale for importation, and sale after importation of infringing Apple devices into the United States by the defendants and appropriate cease and desist orders. In the U.S. District Court suit, Immersion is alleging infringement of the same patents and is seeking to stop further infringement by the defendants, and to recover damages.
The complaints assert infringement by the Apple iPhone 6, Apple iPhone 6 Plus, Apple iPhone 6s, Apple iPhone 6s Plus, Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition of the following two Immersion patents:
The complaints also assert infringement by the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus of the following Immersion patent:
Source: Immersion Corporation
They are claiming that Apple is infringing sending a signal from one device, the iPhone to another, the Apple Watch, to instigate a Haptic event. However their patent specifies a gesture on the originating device which instigates the sending of the haptic event on the second device. I cannot think of that happening on my paired Apple Watch except on pairing, but that is not a gesture either.
After that, the haptic occur on receipt of phone messages, turn by turn map directions, phone calls, or alerts. No gestures on the phone do it.
Perhaps they are intending the patent infringement to mean that a phone call from another iPhone is the gesture that might initiate a vibration on the target callee's iPhone, but that has been enabled since the first iPhone was demonstrated. Also, the iPhone 5s will also work with the Apple Watch. So what are they talking about? And what is this about "stored effects" which is necessary to all of the patents in suit.
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