The head of the US Patent Office last week told critics of the patent system to “give it a rest already,” and said the system is working. If only it were so. The latest lawsuit against Apple shows the system may be more broken than ever.
In a complaint filed in California, a shell firm wants the iPhone maker to hand over $ 3 million for daring to include headphones with its phone devices. Intelligent Smart Phones Concepts LLC points to US Patent 7,373,182 titled “Wireless Mobile Phone Including a Headset” to argue Apple must pay up.
Despite its fancy name, the plaintiff doesn’t make or do anything, meaning that it’s not vulnerable to a counter-attack from Apple. And, in case you’re wondering, its marvelous invention is depicted like this in the patent:
Contacted by telephone, the shell company’s lawyer, Sepehr Daghighian declined to comment or explain who his client is. But we can make a pretty good guess.
A search of the USPTO patent transfer database shows a number of connections to the Seattle area. And one of the named inventors, Peter Zatloukal, is a former Microsoft employee. All of this points to Intelligent Smart Phones Concepts LLC being another spawn of mega-patent troll, Intellectual Ventures or one its relatives. For the unfamiliar, IV is run by a former Microsoft executive named Nathan Myhrvold who has made it his mission to amass junk patents and sue everyone from big companies to tiny start-ups.
USPTO director, David Kappos, who is leaving his job in January is well-liked and highly respected by both academics and the patent bar. But his defense of the status quo simply does not hold up. At this rate, his agency risks teaching a generation of young innovators to hold the entire system in contempt as a vehicle for destructive lawsuits and parasitic opportunists. Enough is enough.
Intelligent Smart Phone Concepts v. Apple
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