Apple - Hoist On Its Own Petard?

Apple Is Sued on Patent-Infringement Claim - WSJ.com. While Apple is making a big deal out of its refusal to consider a global settlement with Samsung over billion dollar patent issues, its phone is rapidly becoming an old design. Apple certainly has enough cash to weather just about any development; however, it would appear that its own patent portfolio isn't the only thing it should be concerned about. Sony and Philips quietly purchased Intertrust Technologies Corp in 2002, and Microsoft paid $440 million in 2005 to resolve a patent dispute. Apple uses InterTrust patents in much of its digital copyright protection to protect against hackers and to protect online transactions, which are the core of the future growth of mobile computing. It should be interesting to see how long Apple resists paying a fair licensing fee for the use of Intertrust's intellectual property.