Apple Named in Two New Lawsuits

As if the lawyers for Apple weren’t already busy enough, Affinity Labs of Texas LLC has accused the company of infringing on three patents.  The patents are titled “System and method for Communicating Selected Information to an Electronic Device,” “Audio System and Method,” and “Content Delivery System and Method.”  According to Ars Technica, Affinity Labs claims that these patents cover buying songs from the iTunes store, and downloading songs from iTunes onto an iPod or iPhone.  It is also claimed that these patents cover playing digital audio on an iPod or iPhone with external speakers.

Before reacting to this news, it should be mentioned that the lawsuit was filed in patent infringement-friendly Eastern Texas.  Also, the patents seem to be a bit broad, since it seems as if they would apply to every audio device that plays digital audio.  Affinity Labs has similar suits pending against car manufacturers, in which the defendants have filed countersuits.  Can you say “patent troll?”

Accolade Systems LLC has also named Apple in a lawsuit, after it named Micron and Aptina as defendants as well.  Accolade claims that their patent, “Method and Apparatus for Detecting Camera Sensor Intensity Saturation,” is violated by Apple as the iPhone automatically adjusts the brightness of a screen based on surrounding light.  Other cellphones and products also have this feature, so it remains unclear as to why the suit is being launched against Apple.

While it seems as if Apple may be able to wiggle its way out of these lawsuits, Apple’s bottom line may be hurt as it still must pay money to defend itself.