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Apple has been hit by a lawsuit alleging its AirPods infringe on a pair of patents owned by an obscure Texas LLC related to wireless earphones and wearable device technology.
WFR IP LLC, which appears to be a non-practising entity, filed suit Friday in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas. It seeks patent infringement exemption on two patents-in-suit.
Although the complaint does not name AirPods, it alleges that Apple “makes, uses, offers for sale and sells wireless earphones and wearable products and services” that infringe the patents in the suit.
The two patents in question are U.S. Patents No. 9,438,984 entitled “Wearable electronic pieces and organizer”, and No. 7,505,793 entitled “Wireless earpiece assembly”. The ‘793 patent was granted in 2009, while the other ‘984 was granted in 2016.
The ‘984 patent covers ‘wireless communication jewelry’ and an ‘organizer’. The older ‘793 patent doesn’t cover AirPods at all, as it describes a type of ear hook like the one used by Apple’s Beats by Dre subsidiary.
It is not clear how the ‘984 patent applies. The patent is incredibly vague and Apple has patents on similar materials dating back to the first three years of the century.
Both patents list William F. Ryann as their investor. Ryann, whose initials are “WFR,” is a patent attorney based in San Antonio, Texas with a background in biomedical sciences.
Very little information is available online about WFR IP LLC other than the company’s lawsuits. In addition to Apple, the organization of the same name has also filed a complaint against Amazon Web Services for patent infringement.
The complaint contains no specific evidence of the infringement, nor does it mention specific products. Compared to other patent complaints filed with Apple, the lawsuit is relatively short and lacking in detail.
It demands a jury trial, as well as damages, attorneys’ fees and other prayers for relief.