Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro has filed a patent infringement lawsuit
on behalf of EMG Technology, LLC against Apple Inc.for the way the iPhone navigates the Internet that infringes on EMG's patents that deal with the rendering of web pages on mobile phones.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified
damages against Apple for the iPhone infringement of the patentsl
EMG Managing
Member Elliot Gottfurcht is one of the named inventors of five U.S.
patents for navigating the Internet on mobile devices and Internet
Protocol Television (IPTV). Issued on October 21, 2008, the '196 patent
includes 76 claims, which are supported by specifications filed in 1999
by Mr. Gottfurcht and others.
JMBM partner and IP expert, Stanley
Gibson, explains that "the '196 patent claims cover the display of
Internet content reformatted from HTML to XML on mobile devices -- the
industry standard currently displayed by the iPhone. Additional patent
claims include the technology for manipulating a region of the screen
for zooming and scrolling.
"Websites are just beginning to
develop their mobile sister sites for fast and easy navigation," says
Mr. Gibson. "For example, to access NBC on a computer the URL is
NBC.com. For the mobile site on the iPhone, the URL would be m.NBC.com.
The '196 patent covers the simplified interface of reformatted mobile
content to provide optimum viewing and navigation with single touches
on a small screen."
In addition to being an inventor, Mr.
Gottfurcht is a real estate developer in West Los Angeles. He was the
original developer of Beverly Park, above the Beverly Hills Hotel;
Beverly Glen Park, an 800-home community and The Glen Center above
Holmby Hills; and the Carriage House, now the "W" Hotel in Westwood
Village.
Mr. Gibson was one of the lead trial attorneys from
Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro who successfully prosecuted Gary
Michelson M.D.'s patent infringement lawsuit against Medtronic, which
resulted in a $570 million verdict for his clients. Dr. Michelson
received a $1.35 billion payment from Medtronic, one of the largest
ever involving an intellectual property dispute and acquisition.