Previewed at WWDC, launching in the fall.
Florida Man Sues Apple for $10+ Billion, Says iOS Devices Copy His 1992 Drawings
Florida resident Thomas S. Ross has filed a lawsuit against Apple this week, claiming that the iPhone, iPad, and iPod infringe upon his 1992 invention of a hand-drawn "Electronic Reading Device" (ERD). The court filing claims the plaintiff was "first to file a device so designed and aggregated," nearly 15 years before the first iPhone.
Between May 23, 1992 and September 10, 1992, Ross designed three hand-drawn technical drawings of the device, primarily consisting of flat rectangular panels with rounded corners that "embodied a fusion of design and function in a way that never existed prior to 1992."
While the plaintiff claims that he continues to experience "great and irreparable injury that cannot fully be compensated or measured in money," he has demanded a jury trial and is seeking restitution no less than $10 billion and a royalty of up to 1.5% on Apple's worldwide sales of infringing devices.
Ross v. Apple, Inc. was filed with the Florida Southern District Court on June 27. The case number is 0:2016cv61471.
Between May 23, 1992 and September 10, 1992, Ross designed three hand-drawn technical drawings of the device, primarily consisting of flat rectangular panels with rounded corners that "embodied a fusion of design and function in a way that never existed prior to 1992."
What Ross contemplated, was a device that could allow one to read stories, novels, news articles, as well as look at pictures, watch video presentations, or even movies, on a flat touch-screen that was back-lit. He further imagined that it could include communication functions, such as a phone and a modem, input/output capability, so as to allow the user to write notes, and be capable of storing reading and writing material utilizing internal and external storage media. He also imagined that the device would have batteries and even be equipped with solar panels.Ross applied for a utility patent to protect his invention in November 1992, but the application was declared abandoned in April 1995 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after he failed to pay the required application fees. He also filed to copyright his technical drawings with the U.S. Copyright Office in 2014.
While the plaintiff claims that he continues to experience "great and irreparable injury that cannot fully be compensated or measured in money," he has demanded a jury trial and is seeking restitution no less than $10 billion and a royalty of up to 1.5% on Apple's worldwide sales of infringing devices.
Ross v. Apple, Inc. was filed with the Florida Southern District Court on June 27. The case number is 0:2016cv61471.
[ 275 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
28 months ago
And Florida Man promises he never, ever watched "Star Trek" or "2001: A Space Odyssey" prior to drawing his contraption.
28 months ago
Lol. Dude, not even close.
Can't believe Apple still hasn't offered that optional cellular antenna though! :D
Can't believe Apple still hasn't offered that optional cellular antenna though! :D
28 months ago
Sounds to be like he copied Apples design...from Wikipedia:
"An early device in the PDA category – the Newton originated the term "personal digital assistant" – it was the first to feature handwriting recognition. Apple started developing the platform in 1987 and shipped the first devices in 1993, production officially ended on February 27, 1998."
Hmm...that sounds like 5 years before this bonehead filed his patent.....
"An early device in the PDA category – the Newton originated the term "personal digital assistant" – it was the first to feature handwriting recognition. Apple started developing the platform in 1987 and shipped the first devices in 1993, production officially ended on February 27, 1998."
Hmm...that sounds like 5 years before this bonehead filed his patent.....
28 months ago
All I know is...
... if he wins...
... I'm digging through all my third grade "future computer" drawings that my Mom kept !!
... if he wins...
... I'm digging through all my third grade "future computer" drawings that my Mom kept !!
[ Read All Comments ]
Parallels today announced version 14 of its desktop virtualization software for Mac, offering macOS Mojave support out of the box and significantly improved application launch speeds over the...
With watchOS 5, Apple has added support for WebKit, which is designed to allow you to view content from the web right on your wrist, something that's entirely new to the Apple Watch.
...
Twelve South last month introduced its newest product, the AirSnap case designed to work with Apple's AirPods.
Priced at $29.99, the AirSnap is made from a supple, full-grain leather...
Apple today seeded the eighth beta of a new tvOS 12 operating system to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing the seventh beta and more than two months after introducing the new...
Apple today seeded the eighth beta of an upcoming watchOS 5 update to developers, one week after releasing the seventh beta and over two months after introducing the software at the Worldwide...
Popular iOS and Android weather app Dark Sky has updated with "one of the biggest overhauls" to date, according to a new blog post that the company shared online today.
The update...
Fitbit today announced the "Fitbit Charge 3," its latest fitness tracker that includes improvements to health and workout features, a 7-day battery life, and advanced sleep tracking with an...
Mojang's classroom-focused "Minecraft: Education Edition" will launch on the iPad in September, allowing teachers to incorporate the game into their lesson plans for the new school year...
