Apple Sued Over Multitouch Patent

Elan Microelectronics, a Taiwanese chipmaker, filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission today, accusing Apple of using its patented multitouch technology in the iPhone, the iPod Touch and, of course, the iPad. The chipmaker has also asked the ITC To ban the import of the Apple devices into the U.S.

The ITC complaint is an extension of a April 2009 lawsuit filed by Elan against Apple. In that complaint (PDF), Elan says that Apple “has been on notice” since early 2007 of the patent violation and continues to utilize it without authorization. Elan calls its patent fundamental to the “detection of multi-fingers that allows for any subsequent multi-finger application to be implemented.” Apple, in a legal response (PDF) filed in October, denied the allegations.

The company said its patent is fundamental to the “detection of multi-fingers that allows for any subsequent multi-finger application to be implemented.”