Show me the money —

Apple’s entire product line targeted for alleged DRM patent violations

Intertrust won $440M from Microsoft, now accuses Apple of using its patented tech.

Intellectual property and DRM firm Intertrust Technologies has set its sights on AppleThe company has a new patent suit that targets the entirety of Apple's product line: iOS devices, Macs, Apple TVs, iTunes, iCloud, and even the App Store. Intertrust announced on Wednesday that it had filed suit against Apple in the Northern District of California for allegedly violating 15 of Intertrust's patents on security and "distributed trusted computing" (in other words, its DRM tech).

“Apple makes many great products that use Intertrust’s inventions,” Intertrust CEO Talal Shamoon said in a statement. “Our patents are foundational to modern Internet security and trusted computing and result from years of internal research and development. We are proud of our record of peaceful and constructive licensing with industry leaders. We find it regrettable that we are forced to seek Court assistance to resolve this matter.”

For those unfamiliar with Intertrust, it's not just another patent holding firm. As noted by the Wall Street Journal, both Sony and Royal Phillips Electronics hold stake in the company, and Intertrust claims to have made patent or software licensing deals with Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, Adobe, Samsung, Vodafone, HTC, and others. Most famously, however, Intertrust won a $440 million settlement from Microsoft in 2004.

It's too early to say whether Intertrust will succeed in getting a settlement or licensing deal out of Apple. Unlike some pure patent-holding companies, Intertrust says it hires engineers and develops "security-based products, trust services, and content distribution." Since Apple may well have patents related to some of those areas, it could hit back with a lawsuit of its own. Still, Intertrust seems to have a decent track record when it comes to squeezing money out of companies (whether it's Microsoft or others), so the company may keep pushing Apple in the hopes of winning another high-profile settlement.

Channel Ars Technica