Apple sued over screen rendering technology

Not your tech, claims firm

15 February 2009 17:57 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Apple is being sued over the screen rendering technology that it uses in the iPhone and iPod touch according to reports on the Internet.

If successful, Apple could be forced to payout huge sums as well as possibly change the way users interact with the popular smartphone.

In the suit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, Macworld magazine reports that "Picsel Technologies claims that the rendering process Apple uses on the iPhone violates Picsel's patents".

The company says that its technology accelerates the process of updating the display on a device.

According to the report, "users would experience long screen update delays if it weren’t for the use of the patented technology. Zooming and panning documents, Web sites, and images would not work on the iPhone as fluidly".

Reviewers and users constantly praise the iPhone and iPod touch for its ability to quickly respond to users commands when they touch the screen, even though neither device has the fastest chipset in the market.

Picsel, say Macworld, is asking the court to order Apple to compensate them for devices already sold with treble damages, although why it has taken the company over 18 months to come forward isn't being stated.

Apple recently made clear that it would vigorously defend any infringements on its IP, referring perhaps to the launch of the Palm Pre announcement at CES in January.

Full tags

Phones, Mobile phones, Apple, iPhone, Picsel