Today we've got two new entrants into the squared circle of the Patent Palace, as THX has sued Apple for allegedly infringing upon a patent with various models of the iPhone, iPad and iMac. AppleInsider notes that the lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and in it THX claims that Apple violated U.S. Patent No. 7,433,483 for "narrow profile speaker configurations and systems," which relates to improving the sound quality of compact speakers in products like computers. The products being targeted by THX include the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 as well as unspecified iPad and iMac models.
In its complaint, THX claims that Apple's infringement has caused it monetary damages and irreparable harm, and as a result it's seeking damages to compensate for THX's lost profits or a reasonable royalty. The two companies have until May 14 to meet to discuss initial disclosure and an early settlement, so it's possible that this may not even escalate into an actual court battle. Whether or not that'll actually happen is a mystery, especially since both companies have declined to comment on the matter so far, but I'm sure that many fans of the mobile industry wouldn't mind if THX and Apple settled rather than adding to the list of ongoing patent suits. Stay tuned and we'll let you know what ends up going down.
