Apple sued by software developer Ameranth over Passbook
updated 08:44 pm EDT, Mon October 1, 2012
Patents asserted in use since 2001, used in restaurant POS
Apple's Passbook technology has come under legal attack by hospitality software solutions purveyor Ameranth. The developer is asserting four patents against Apple claiming that Apple is fully aware of the existence of the patents. The suit seeks triple damages for willful infringement, associated fees, and any other relief that the court "may deem just and proper."
According to the court filing from the US District Court for the Southern District of California, Ameranth is accusing Apple of infringing the "Information Management and Synchronous Communications" patents. Ameranth views Passbook's wireless synchronization and "the downloading and storage of, inter alia, airline boarding passes, hotel reservations, movie tickets, and event tickets" as infringing.
Ameranth has asserted the patents against other companies, such as Ticketmaster, Fandango, Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt for infringement of the same patent portfolio. Bill Gates called Ameranth "one of the leading pioneers of information technology for the betterment of mankind" in an award ceremony in 2001 for products involving the patents being asserted against Apple.
Ameranth Suit
