Samsung, LG hit with Android patent infringement suit
Administrative software and internet technology company Vertical Computer Systems has filed a legal complaint alleging that Samsung, LG and Interwoven have built products that use its patented technology.
The filing — made on Monday — relates to two patents (numbered 6,826,744 and 7,716,629) granted to Vertical which cover a "system and method for generating web sites in an arbitrary object framework".
The company alleges that at least four Android Samsung handsets and the Galaxy Tab infringe on technology covered by both patents. It also claims that at least one LG handset — the LG Ally — infringes on the patents.
The lawsuit also brings California-based providers of content management systems Interwoven — which was purchased by Autonomy in March 2009 — into the filing, alleging that its Interwoven TeamSite 2006 product infringes on the same patents when used.
Vertical has demanded a trial by jury and requested that an injunction is served to prevent ongoing infringement. The company has also requested that it be "adequately" compensated for LG, Samsung and Interwoven's use of its patented technology.
In the court document Vertical alleges that it contacted Interwoven in January 2009 and then again in March 2010 to inform them of the infringements, but that on two occasions the company was mislead.
"Interwoven again mislead Vertical into believing that it would attempt to resolve any patent infringement claim by Vertical by negotiating in good faith, but it obtained an extension of time under the pretext of studying the issues presented by Vertical to prepare a lawsuit against Vertical," reads the filing.
In 2008, Vertical won a similar lawsuit against Microsoft that involved one of the same patents (6,826,744) as this most recent suit. The settlement involved Microsoft paying $1.5m (£941,000) in compensation.
The most recent suit is one of many to be aimed at manufacturers that use the Android operating system.
In August Oracle filed a lawsuit that alleged that Google's use of Java in the Android operating system infringed on copyrights and patents covered by the company's Java patents. Google responded by saying that Oracle had acted in "bad faith" and in November claimed that Oracle has altered evidence submitted in the filing.
In April, Microsoft publicly asserted that Android infringes on patented technology related to the user interface and underlying OS. Since then both Microsoft and Apple have lodged patent suits against Motorola concerning the Android operating system.
"I can't think of any other company that would have exposed its partners — the makers of Android-based devices — to so many patent problems... The Android [patent] situation is completely out of control and there are no signs of improvement. On the contrary, Android's serious patent problem continues to exacerbate," wrote Florian Mueller on the Free and Open Source Software (Foss) blog.