Sapphire ingot maker Tera Xtal Technology has filed with Taiwan's Intellectual Property Court a charge against Apple Asia, Apple's subsidiary based in Hong Kong, and Taiwan-based consumer electronics retail chain Senao International and mobile telecom carrier Vibo Telecom for infringement of its Taiwan utility model patent M438642 "imaging and lens devices", according to Tera Xtal.
Tera Xtal, in the lawsuit, claims patent infringement damage of NT$300 million (US$9.92 million) from the three accused plus interest payments at 5%. Tera Xtal applied for patents concerning the application of sapphire to handset-use camera lenses seven months earlier than Apple, the company stressed.
Tera Xtal, applied for patents regarding the application of sapphire for handset-use camera lenses in Taiwan, China, South Korea, the US and Germany and obtained the patents. Tera Xtal's motivation of starting the patent lawsuit is to negotiate a settlement with Apple and thereby become a sapphire supplier for Apple, especially after US-based GT Advanced Technologies applied for bankruptcy, the sources explained.
