Florida man Thomas S Ross has filed a lawsuit in the Florida Southern District Court, alleging that Apple stole his idea, laid out in an abandoned patent filing, and used it in products including the iPhone.
The Daily Dot reported this week that the case files contend Ross applied for a utility patent with the US Patent Office in 1992, and this was abandoned in 1995 after application fees weren’t paid.
AFP reports that Ross is seeking damages of $US 11 billion, $US 10 billion restitution, and 1.5 per cent of future sales of Apple’s products.
According to documents filed with the court, Apple conducts “dumpster diving” and Ross’s expired patent was used by the company.
The Floridian believes the iPhone and other devices copy his 1992 drawings for an “Electronic Reading Device”.
According to the court filing: “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.”