Amazon’s recently announced Android-based tablet named the Amazon Kindle Fire has not only attracted the attention of preordering customers but also of patent companies.
Within just two weeks after Amazon debuted its 200-dollar Android tablet, SmartPhone Technologies LLC has already found the device allegedly infringing five patents that it owns.
The lawsuit was filed in the Texas Eastern District Court last Friday.
SmartPhone Technologies is a company owned by Acacia Research, which has been in the business of buying and licensing patents and has been contemptuously labeled as a patent troll by many in the industry. Amazon is not the only company that SmartPhone Technologies has accused of patent trespassing but also Apple and Research in Motion.
According to a report on paidContent.org, one of the patents allegedly being infringed by the Amazon Kindle Fire is U.S. Patent No. 6,956,562–which covers tapping a screen icon to execute functions or commands on a handheld device.
Two other patents allegedly being infringed upon by the Amazon device involve those for storing calendar entries on a personal digital assistant and Wi-Fi connectivity.
It looks like the Amazon Kindle Fire is undergoing the test of fire long before it hits the market on November 15. Patent suits aside, have you put the Amazon Kindle Fire through your own fire test?
