Apple may find itself, not infrequently, under the gavel, but that doesn’t mean they don’t launch their own fair share of legal action. Take, for example, the complaint they’ve filed against Atico International USA, a “Global Sourcing and Product Development Supply Chain Management Company.”
We don’t know exactly what it is that Atico does—from what we can tell, they’re one of those vague, shadowy companies that appears to manufacture and sell cheapo products—but Apple’s not thrilled, because the 350,000 products they sell apparently included iPod accessories. Totally unlicensed iPod accessories. Hence, Apple suing them for patent infringement.
Of course, there’s money at stake. Apple licenses its technology (think 30-pin dock connector) to accessory companies for a fee (according to my sources, a pretty profitable one, at that). They’re claiming that Atico is not only costing them money, infringing on their trademark, but harming their reputation. On the streets, you know.
Seems like Atico doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on here, but we’ll let you know how the case progresses.
