U.S. International Trade Commission Investigating Whether Apple Infringed on Maxell Patents

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today announced that it is launching an investigation to determine whether Apple's mobile devices and Macs violate patents owned by Japanese consumer electronics company Maxell. [PDF]

mac iphone ipad apple tv
Maxell filed a complaint with the USITC on July 17, alleging that Apple's mobile devices, tablets, smartwatches, and laptop computers violate patents related to passcode unlocking, WiFi assist, mobile communications, facial recognition in the Photos app, and more.

Notice is hereby given that a complaint was filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission on July 17, 2020, under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, on behalf of Maxell, Ltd. of Japan. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 based upon the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain mobile electronic devices and laptop computers by reason of infringement of certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,203,517 ("the '517 patent"); U.S. Patent No. 8,982,086 ("the '086 patent"); U.S. Patent No. 7,199,821 ("the '821 patent"); U.S. Patent No. 10,129,590 ("the '590 patent"); and U.S. Patent No. 10,176,848 ("the '848 patent"). The complaint further alleges that an industry in the United States exists as required by the applicable Federal Statute.

Maxell is asking that the USITC issue a limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order to prevent Apple from importing infringing devices into the U.S.

The USITC plans to make a final determination in the investigation as quickly as possible. Within 45 days after investigation begins, the USITC will set a target date for completion.

Popular Stories

ios 18 4 carplay

iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay

Sunday February 23, 2025 2:23 pm PST by
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay. As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 2026 Foldable iPhone Has No Visible Display Crease – Report

Tuesday February 25, 2025 2:58 am PST by
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices. According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
airtag orange

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch in May or June With These New Features

Monday February 24, 2025 6:11 am PST by
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe. Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2: With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
iphone 17 lineup cad render majin bu

Revealed: Entire iPhone 17 Lineup's Striking New Camera Designs

Monday February 24, 2025 2:49 am PST by
A new CAD render of all the devices in Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 lineup has been shared online by leaker Majin Bu, specifically showing the allegedly different rear camera system designs of the standard iPhone 17, all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models. The leaker Majin Bu has had some hits in the past, but some of his information has been wrong,...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
trump iphone dictation issue

Apple Fixing 'Trump' Dictation Processing Bug

Tuesday February 25, 2025 1:18 pm PST by
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist." In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...

Top Rated Comments

JCCL Avatar
59 months ago

Get your popcorn's ready.

Apple is a 2 Trillion Dollar company?

What investigation USITC? Give it up...
I fail to see how is being 2 Trillion Dollar Company has to do with whether they infringed on a Third Party's IP or not. Some people cheer for Apple here as if they were your favorite Sports Team.... "No one can beat my Apple"!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PSeg90 Avatar
59 months ago
"passcode unlocking, WiFi assist, mobile communications, facial recognition in the Photos app"

...What took them this long to complain about the fundamentals of iPhone?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nylon Avatar
59 months ago
Everyone wants some cookies from the cookie jar. ?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BaltimoreMediaBlog Avatar
59 months ago
Is this related to loading programs from Maxell cassette tapes on the Apple ][e?
I think I did that one time. Does anyone even remember when that actually was a thing? LOL
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
progx Avatar
59 months ago
Maxell. Haven't heard that name in years. Does anyone need a blank audio cassette? Want to a mix tape?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
59 months ago
Apple legal very busy
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)