Apple Keeps Busy Juggling IPhone Patent Infringement Lawsuits

St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants is taking Apple to court over alleged patent infringements. The four patents in question are digital camera related and the iPhone camera has allegedly breached them. St. Clair is suing for damages and intends to take the lawsuit to court.

Using past lawsuits as an indicator, things aren’t looking too bright for Apple, as St. Clair has taken other camera companies to court over some of the same patents and won several times. Canon lost a case in 2003 resulting in $34 million in damages and Sony lost in 2001 to the tune of $25 million.

Apparently, St. Clair has some real camera voodoo up its sleeves because they’ve filed similar suits against a laundry list of top camera makers including Fuji, Minolta, Nikon and Olympus. Many have signed licensing agreements.

A month and a half ago, Nokia made headlines over a lawsuit it had filed against Apple. That suit pertains to 10 separate alleged patent infringements relating to the iPhone.

It looks like the holiday season will be even busier than normal over in Cupertino. [The Loop via Mobile Crunch]