MARSHALL, Texas (Legal Newsline) - A Texas-based company that sued Apple in federal court earlier this year has since dropped its case against the maker of the popular iPhone and iPad.
Hilltop Technology LLC filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in February. It filed a notice of voluntary dismissal four months later, in June.
Hilltop submitted its single-page notice June 24.
In its February complaint, Hilltop accused Apple of infringing on its patent by making, using and/or selling products having touchscreen devices and modules.
Hilltop stated in its complaint that it is the owner of U.S. Patent No. 7,864,503, or the ‘503 Patent, entitled “Capacitive Type Touch Panel.”
The ‘503 Patent was issued on Jan. 4, 2011 after examination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The application leading to the ‘503 Patent was filed on April 23, 2008, according to the complaint.
“On information and belief, examples of Apple’s products that infringe the ‘503 Patent include, but are not limited to, all Apple products having a capacitive type touch panel, including its iPad Air having capacitive-type Touch-On-Lens (TOL) touch panels,” Hilltop wrote in February.
At the time, Hilltop argued that it suffered monetary damages, and would continue to unless Apple’s infringing activities were enjoined by the federal court.
According to a search of federal court filings, the company filed similar lawsuits against AU Optronics Corporation in September and Wintek Corporation and TPK Holding Co. Ltd. in November. Those lawsuits also were filed in the Eastern District of Texas.
Hilltop and AU Optronics agreed to dismiss the case in April. Also in April, Hilltop agreed to dismiss the Wintek case. The TPK case is ongoing, with a scheduling conference set for Sept. 2.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at patents@legalnewsline.com.