LS Cable & System registered the patent in 2011 and says that multiple Apple products including the iPhone and AirPods have infringed on it. The company says that Apple infringed on its patent after the AirPower wireless charging pad was cancelled due to overheating issues in 2017.
LS Cable & System has been sending Apple warnings since 2019 and says that they have all gone unheard. Apple’s dismissive attitude either means that it believes it has nothing to fear or it truly thinks itself to be beyond legal action. The lawsuit will hopefully make things clearer sooner rather than later.
Wireless charging on iPhone has been around since 2017. | Video credit — Apple
What’s funny is that Samsung was sued for wireless charging patent infringements recently as well. A court ruled that Samsung devices from 2016 and onward had infringed patents by implementing the wireless charging technology that they use. The company that had sued Samsung had previously approached the Korean tech giant multiple times for a partnership.One thing worth keeping in mind is that patent infringements like this are very common in the tech industry. Whether Apple infringed on LS Cable & System’s patents or not doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. Apple will likely resolve the dispute quietly and quickly without much media attention and your iPhone will retain its wireless charging support.LS Cable & System had developed its own wireless charging module before Apple implemented the technology in the iPhone. The Korean firm has also made charging related accessories for Apple’s products in the past. I feel like this could have been a pretty rewarding partnership for both had the patent infringement not happened.As Apple tries its hand in new industries — like smart home devices and robotics — I wonder if we’ll hear about more infringements like this going forward. LS Cable & System is a major company so it’s probably not going down without a fight but smaller players are often no match for big corporations’ lawyers.
