Patent infringement isn’t rare by any means, and Apple’s legal team is adept at navigating those waters.

Which it will have to be as it addresses yet another lawsuit against the company. This time around it’s an entrepreneur based out of Vancouver, Washington, named Toshiyasu Abe. He has filed against Apple in the state of Oregon, stating that he believes Apple has infringed on his patents related to key flicks and 3D Touch on select iPhone and iPad models.

“Mr. Abe has been an entrepreneur and inventor for nearly his entire life. In the early 2000s, Mr. Abe dedicated substantial time and resources into developing, promoting, and protecting the then-novel user interface device claimed in United States Patent No. 6,520,699, titled “KEYBOARD.”

The patent in question was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office back in February, 2003. It is No. 6,520,699. In the description, it describes, at least in part, a user interface device that features “a plurality of buttons displayed on a touch sensitive screen,” with “each button being associated with a plurality of characters or functions.”

Abe’s lawsuit includes the Flick Keyboard feature that Apple introduced with iOS 11 on some iPad models. With this feature, an iPad user with a supported model can simply flick down on a select key to quickly choose a number or symbol.

3D Touch is also included, with Abe stating that the feature’s pressure-sensitive and multifunction attributes lean too heavily into the entrepreneur’s patent.

Here are the iPhone and iPad models, as was cataloged by MacRumors: iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4, 9.7-inch iPad, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

As far as what Abe is looking for with this lawsuit, it includes damages that would cover the alleged infringement of the patent. That amount isn’t dictated just yet, and would be decided at trial. At the time of publication, though, the court hasn’t decided to actually hear the case just yet.

Source: iphonehacks