Newly published court documents have revealed that Apple was sued on Friday by Operating Systems Solutions for allegedly violating a patent for fast starting. The Tampa, Florida-based complaint argues that the MacBook Pro and other Macs copy technology used to check whether a previous boot configuration exists and start up the OS faster than it would otherwise. The patent was at one point owned by LG but was reissued as an OSS patent in February 2008.
As with most such cases, OSS called for tripled damages because of Apple’s alleged “willful disregard” of the patent. The lawsuit would theoretically ban Macs and Mac OS X from sale without royalties or a settlement. In an unusual step, the plaintiff also demanded that Apple destroy all marketing and other materials for the fast boot method.
The origin of OSS is unknown. It has no known presence on the web. While the firm may be a patent troll with no meaningful products, acting in Tampa is also very unusual for such cases. Most non-productive patent owners often go out of their way to sue in Eastern District of Texas courts given judges’ reputations for bias in favor of the plaintiffs in patent cases.
Neither side has commented on the lawsuit.
