Apple, AT&T sued over iPhone feature

Uh oh. You mean someone already invented that? It seems someone already invented everything, including visual voicemail, a major feature of the iPhone — and one that doesn’t work if you unlock it and use it on, say, T-Mobile. Inventor Judah Klausner, though his patent-holding company Klausner Technologies Inc., is claiming patent on the innovation, and is now seeking damages from AT&T and Apple. The estimate: $360 million.

But that’s not all. Klausner is also suing Skype, Comcast, and Cablevision. Why? Over VoIP, which he also claims he has patents for. This comes after he sued Vonage and Time Warner over similar issues.

The truth is, the patent system needs reform. There was no chance that Klausner sued Apple and/or AT&T before the iPhone came out. He wanted to see it sell, and then he’d pounce. That’s as backwards as it gets. You can’t “ignore” the use of your patent, and then strike at a strategic time. At least you shouldn’t be able to.

Rather, we need a system where patents are checked before a product is released. Idealistic? Yes. Fair? Yes. Implementable? Probably not. But we seriously need to stop letting people like this sit back and watch products succeed, and then claim they own the technology. Because in the end, it sets back innovation.

[CNN Money]

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