WebProNews

Apple has been named in a patent infringement lawsuit by EMG Technology who alleges that the iPhone infringes on a patent that enables the device to browse the Web.

The lawsuit was filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of Tyler Texas Monday and seeks unspecified damages against Apple for the alleged iPhone infringement.

An attorney for EMG, Stanley Gibson said U.S. Patent No. 7,441,196 is one of five patents for navigating the Internet on mobile devices and Internet Protocol Television. (IPTV).

The patent. Issued October 21 includes 76 claims covering the display of Internet content reformatted from HTML to XML on mobile devices. Additional patent claims include the technology for operating a region of the screen for zooming and scrolling.

"Web sites are just beginning to develop their mobile sister sites for fast and easy navigation," said Mr. Gibson.

"For example, to access NBC on a computer the URL is NBC.com. For the mobile site on the iPhone, the URL would be m.NBC.com. The '196 patent covers the simplified interface of reformatted mobile content to provide optimum viewing and navigation with single touches on a small screen."

The claims in the patent are supported by specifications filed in 1999 by EMG Managing Member Elliot Gottfurcht and others, according to the law firm Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro.