SAN FRANCISCO—Taiwan's Elan Microelectronics Corp. filed suit against Apple Inc. in U.S. District Court here Tuesday (April 7), alleging infringement of two touchscreen technology patents by Apple products including the MacBook, iPhone and iPod Touch, according to various published reports.
According to a Reuters report, Elan said it owns the rights to technology that allowed Apple's products to detect the position of the finger on a touchscreen or touchpad.
Quoting an Elan spokesperson, the New York Times reported that Elan decided to file suit after failing to reach an agreement with Apple.
Elan has also fought legal battles over touchscreen technology with U.S.-based Synaptics Inc.
Elan issued a statement in February saying its multi-finger patent does not conflict with Apple's multi-touch patent.
