Unknown company attempts to take a bite out of Apple
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An Austin-based company with no known business history but with a patent for “wireless communication jewelry” is suing Apple Inc. for infringement over the sale of AirPods, according to Apple company watchdog groups.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Friday by WFR IP LLC, “which appears to be a non-practicing entity,” according to AppleInsider.com. The company has no website and earned LLC status in April, according to state filings.
The complaint claims that Apple “makes, uses, offers for sale, and sells wireless earpiece and wearable piece products and services” that infringe on the company’s patents.
As explained by the AppleInsider, the two patents in question are one for “wearable electronic pieces and organizer,” issued in 2009, and one for “wireless earpiece assembly,” issued in 2016.
Both patents list William F. Ryann as their investor, according to the Apple news blog. Mr. Ryann, whose initials are "WFR," is a patent attorney based in San Antonio, Texas, with a background in biomedical science, and “there is very little information available online about WFR IP LLC, beyond the company's lawsuits. In addition to Apple, the eponymous organization has also filed a complaint against Amazon Web Services for patent infringement,” according to AppleInsider.
As quipped by the Apple trend site, patentlyapple.com, “The only thing that WFR IP is known for is suing other companies.”
