Power supply company files pre-emptive suit

By Ed Sperling, Editor in Chief -- Electronic News, 6/1/2007

American Power Conversion, the maker of uninterruptible power supplies, claims an Arizona company has wrongfully accused it of stealing intellectual property.

APC filed a patent infringement suit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts against Mobility Electronics largely as a pre-emptive legal strike against Mobility. The legal papers say that APC is concerned it will be slapped with a patent infringement suit due to correspondence between the two companies. “By virtue of Mobility’s actions, APC is in reasonable apprehension of a patent infringement suit relating to the Mobility Patents,” the suit says.

APC said it filed suit seeking to invalidate Mobility’s patents based upon five separate patents issued to APC between 1994 and 2006. Two of the most recent patents involve power source connectors for mobile devices, including computers, MP3 players and cell phones. Two others involve that ability to use one power adapter to recharge multiple mobile devices.

APC also is seeking legal fees for bringing the suit.

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