Florida man sues Apple for $10 bn claiming he invented iPhone in 1992
30 Jun 2016
Thomas S Ross of Florida claims that he filed a patent for an "electronic reading device", which was very similar to the iPhone in 1992 and has filed a complaint for misappropriation of intellectual property and copyright infringements against Apple on Monday.
Ross is demanding $10 billion from the company, along with a "reasonable royalty" of 1.5 per cent of future sales of iPhones, The Telegraph reported.
The lawsuit makes the claim that Ross was the first to file the device and that the ERD has since been "hijacked and exploited" by Apple's line of iPhones, iPods, iPads and other products.
The lawsuit states, "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. He also imagined that the device would have batteries and even be equipped with solar panels. Ross called this device, the Electronic Reading Device.
Ross claims that Apple had copied the design, and used it to create a series of derivative products under the Apple name - in other words, his designs were the true precursor to the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.
According to commentators, there were a few snags in Ross' claim most notable being the fact the patent for his 'ERD' was never finalised since some of the administrative fees were never paid at the time.
It was put on hold and was eventually labelled as abandoned in 1995.
