SpaceTime3D, a software company that “provides consumers with a seamless digital experience,” filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Thursday, accusing Apple of infringing the company’s 3D UI with some of its graphical user interface features. patent. One of the three controversial US patents claimed by SpaceTime3D dates back to 2007.
The plaintiffs stated in their complaint:
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Apple’s app switcher, and Safari’s tabbed view feature, infringe on the company’s related patents.
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It covers a way to improve the user experience of small devices by displaying content in 3D space.
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With these features, users can easily view/switch multiple tabs, or open apps, and it works on devices like iPad /Apple Watch.
In contrast to previous patent lawsuits, Thursday’s case was not brought by a non-practicing entity. Apple Insider states:
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SpaceTime3D, Inc. maintains an application that allows users to display pages in a tabbed 3D stack for an intuitive, fun, and interactive web browsing experience.
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The company’s technology was also featured at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and was featured in news outlets such as the San Jose Mercury News and TC.
The lawsuit claims Apple became aware of the technology through news reports, adding that company founder Ezra Bakhash had demonstrated the technology to an unnamed Apple executive who in turn passed the information on to a team inside Apple.
Another Apple representative was said to be “shocked” by SpaceTime3D’s technology and said the platform could save a lot of time. The report said the executive kept Bakhash in communication and that he “certainly spread the word.”
Because Apple knew about the patented technology in advance, SpaceTime3D sued the company for knowingly infringing its intellectual property, and the Cupertino tech giant even tried to patent the technology.
Fortunately, because SpaceTime3D holds existing patents, Apple’s strategy has not succeeded. To sum up, the plaintiff hopes that the jury will find that Apple has infringed its own patents, compensate the related damages, and bear the legal expenses of the case.