14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has entered a Settlement and License Agreement with IP Innovation, a wholly owned subsidiary that is a part of the Acacia Technologies group. The agreement resolves patent litigation that was pending in the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas with respect to certain Apple products.
A little over a month ago, IP Innovation LLC issued a formal complaint that accused Apple of "willful and deliberate" infringement of their computer control patent, by selling its current Tiger operating system. At the time, IP Innovation demanded a jury trial, and also sought an injunction that would prevent Apple from infringing on the patent, by blocking them from continuing to sell the current version of Mac OS X as well as any future versions that might draw on the supposed infringements. They were also asking for reparations for perceived damages, which "exceeded $20 million."
The patent in question is a filing originally by Xerox researchers for a "User Interface with Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects." It refers to the technique of creating a window on a computer's screen with controls that switch between views of multiple associated display objects within the window, erasing one view as the user selects another while still giving a spatial frame of reference and the same general interface during the switch.
The patent potentially applied to a great many elements in Apple's operating system, as well as many other programs. In fact, the 20 year old filing described methods of displaying information that have become commonplace, not only in Apple's software, but in all software across all platforms. Considering the broad application of the patent, it is not surprising that the company decided not to fight it, and instead settle and license it. Apple has a large amount of cash available just for things like this and the $20 million is going to be little more than a drop in the bucket.