Summary: Screen orientation patent used against smartphones by a patent troll

Microsoft uses patent lawsuits against it as an excuse to get all offensive on the patent front and Apple has been doing something similar lately, as we demonstrated last week. They want public sympathy to accompany their aggression. Here is Apple losing to a patent troll. To quote CNET: "You might think it's obvious that when an iPhone or similar device is placed on its side, what's displayed on the screen should rotate as well.

"But CNET has learned that a federal judge in Delaware yesterday rejected Apple's attempt to throw out a lawsuit over screen rotation brought by a holding company, MobileMedia Ideas, which has been dubbed "a classic patent troll."

Apple has even worse patents than that, e.g. rounded rectangle. Apple uses such patents to ban or extort competitors, so it is in no position to bemoan the aforementioned decision. In case MobileMedia Ideas will target Android/others next, we ought to call it out. Patent trolls don't just sue and then stop, getting back to a real, productive business. ⬆