Apple iPhone, iPod Touch Infringed on MobileMedia Patents

A Delaware jury this week found Apple guilty of infringing on three patents held by Maryland-based MobileMedia Ideas.

MobileMedia, a joint venture between Sony and Nokia, sued Apple back in 2010 for infringing on 14 of its patents with the iPhone and iPod, but the case eventually focused on just three patents.

According to court documents, those patents cover technologies for call connections, the ability to reject an incoming call, and a device for personal communications, data collection, and data processing.

In a statement, a MobileMedia Ideas spokesman said "we're pleased that the court found infringement on all three patents and we think it's justified."

The original filing asked for an injunction against further infringement. It mentioned the iPod touch, but also the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, neither of which are for sale on Apple's website anymore.

According to Bloomberg, a decision on damages has not yet been determined. MobileMedia CEO Larry Horn, however, told the news service that the reward could be "substantial."

In other patent news, the ruling comes shortly after the release of a paper that said the majority of patent cases filed this year were submitted by so-called "patent trolls" - or entities that exist primarily to secure funds from companies using their patented technology.

According to Colleen Chien, a law professor at Santa Clara University, 61 percent of patent suits filed in the U.S. as of Dec. 1 - or 2,530 - were brought by patent trolls.