14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is typically the preferred target for patent trolls across the world, but it looks like the attention can be easily switched to any other large tech companies that have enough money to pay for a potential settlement in such cases.
This time, Microsoft might have to go to war with a company called Lemaire Illumination Technologies LLC, who says in court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas, that the Lumia 950 infringes on some of its patents covering LED technology.
Reuters reports that a total of three patents are being mentioned in court documents, all of them related to LEDs used to illuminate mobile devices screen.
Microsoft hasn’t yet issued a statement on this, but it looks like Lemaire is actually going after several targets, including LG, who is also being sued for patent infringement.
Apple also sued 5 years ago
Also, back in 2012, LED Tech Development, a company that Lemaire Illumination Technologies purchased a year later, started a lawsuit against Apple for violating four patents with products like the iPad and the MacBook Pro.
The funny thing is that Microsoft appears to be in legal trouble for a product that’s already been abandoned, as the company no longer manufactures the Lumia 950 and 950 XL. The software giant recently acknowledged that Windows 10 Mobile entered maintenance mode, with no new features and hardware planned for the platform.
The Lumia 950 series, however, is the company’s latest flagship phone lineup, and was officially launched in October 2015 alongside a series of other products, including the Microsoft Band 2. The wearable has also been discontinued with no other generation launched.
It remains to be seen how Microsoft deals with these claims of patent infringement, but in most of the cases these companies only seek a settlement or royalties from the tech giants they drag to court.