A company named Minerva Industries has been issued a patent for what is essentially a smartphone, and wasted no time in suing nearly every smartphone-producing company, discovered Techdirt.
The patent covers a “mobile entertainment and communication device” which includes a phone, Internet connectivity, memory for downloads, a camera and microphone, and some sort of GPS functionality. Sounds like a smartphone to me. The minute the patent was issued, the company sued Apple, Nokia, RIM, AT&T, HP, Motorola, HTC, Helio, Sony Ericsson and even more.
Companies often settle out of court rather than going through the incredible legal hassle behind these types of suits, so this is not the first time an overly-broad patent has been used to rake in cash.
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