Edible Apple

Like peas in a pod, another patent troll coupled with another lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Targeting 36 defendants in total, the Texas-based InNova Patent Licensing group alleges that companies as far ranging as Apple, Google, and even JCPenney are infringing on technology which helps differentiate real email from spam.

The InNova patent was awarded to inventor and mathematician Robert Uomini nearly 15 years ago when Internet email was still in its formative stages. Mr. Uomini is the founder of InNova.

Patent-infringement attorney Christopher Banys, lead counsel for InNova, says the company’s patent is one of the building blocks for all email communications.  InNova’s complaint alleges that the defendant companies have used InNova’s invention without permission for years.

“Email as we know it would essentially stop working if it weren’t for InNova’s invention,” says Mr. Banys, who leads The Lanier Law Firm’s national intellectual property practice. “More than 80 percent of email is spam, which is why companies use InNova’s invention rather than forcing employees to wade through billions of useless emails. Unfortunately, the defendants appear to be profiting from this invention without any consideration for InNova’s legal patent rights.”

Some of the other defendants include 3Com, AOL, Bank of America, Frito-Lay, HP, JPMorgan Chase & Co., RIM, Siemens, Wells Fargo, and Yahoo.