Apple sued over iPhone touchscreen rights

Taiwanese chip designer Elan Microelectronics has filed suit against Apple, alleging the computing giant's iPhone, iPod touch and MacBook touchscreen technology infringes on two of its "multi-touch" patents. Elan filed the suit late Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in San Francisco; spokesman Dennis Liu told the New York Times the two companies had been in licensing negotiations for about two years. "We couldn't find a common viewpoint with Apple, so we decided we had to take action," Liu said. At this time, it is unclear what damages or remedial action Elan is seeking. Apple declined comment on the lawsuit.

Elan previously won a preliminary court injunction against U.S.-based rival Synaptics in a dispute over one of the patents cited in the Apple lawsuit; Synaptics later counter-sued, and both actions were dismissed in 2008 after the firms reached a cross-licensing agreement. "From their previous victory in the case with Synaptics, I think [Elan] should be quite confident," said Credit Suisse analyst Jessica Chang. "Elan believes they have a unique edge with this patent, and they want to send a signal to the market."

The Elan suit is not the only legal action targeting the iPhone. In March 2009 alone, the device was the subject of three patent infringement suits calling into question its camera, content streaming and ebook display technologies. In late 2008, start-up EMG Technology filed its own patent lawsuit against Apple, claiming the iPhone's mobile web browser infringes on its intellectual property rights.

For more on the Elan touchscreen suit:
- read this New York Times article