A doctor from Iowa is accusing Apple of violating a patent his company owns for ”computer readable” keyboard displays.

Doctor Peter V. Boesen alleges the iPhone’s touch keyboard violates a patent his company SP Technologies received in 2004 (patent number 6,784,873 B1) for a “method and medium for a computer readable keyboard display incapable of user termination”. Boesen is given as the inventor.

Boesen alleges that his company SP Technologies tried to warn Apple that the iPhone would violate its patent in February. SP Technologies is now seeking unspecified damages.

What makes this case so bizarre is that even as Boesen briefs his legal team to take action against Apple, he’s facing a prison sentence for defrauding Iowa’s Medicare and Medicaid programs for more than $900,000. He’s currently out on bail pending an appeal.

Information Week did some digging and found that Boesen, through SP Technologies, has filed a number of patent suits in the past against companies inlcuding Canon, LG Electronics, and Kyocera.

I don’t know about you, but if I was facing the strong possibility of spending time in prison, the last thing I’d be doing is  making dubious claims against major IT companies.

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Entry was posted on Monday, August 6th, 2007 at 1:05 pm under Apple.

Read more entries by John Pospisil.
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