Yet more hassles for Apple’s currently leaderless iPod team, following the departure of Tony Fadell, the complexities of Apple’s hiring of a replacement in the form of Mark Papermaster, now two Chinese residents have filed lawsuits against three companies including Apple, asserting that the iPod infringes on their patent.
The Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court opened a public court session for the case on November 11.
The inventors Cai Yaohua and Chen Shaohua hold a patent on an intelligent audio server. This was applied for in 1996 and granted in 2002.
The two men argue their patent is the basic patent for many digital music products, including MP3s.
They’ve filed their claims in the Chinese court against Apple, Apple Computer Trading (Shanghai) and Wuhan COODOO Trading Company.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Well, if that’s not the kettle calling the pot black!
There must be hundreds of Chinese companies stealing product designs and patents every day in their manufacturing of cheap knock off merchandise while making millions in revenue.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
And these guys have waited this long to sue because?
November 14th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
[...] acordo com o Jornal People’s Daily China (via Distorted Loop) dois cidadãos chineses instauraram esta terça-feira, dia 11, no Tribunal Intermediário do Povo [...]