Apple Wins Seventh Patent Suit with 'Design Element' Theory

In a surprIse to no one, a San BernardIno jury returned a verdIct against the EnglIsh language, fInding It In vIolation of Apple's patent on the letter I.  The surprIse came In Judge Ivan IvanovIch's mItIgatIon of the jury award.  WhIle Apple sued for complete control of the letter I, Judge IvanovIch ruled that the desIgn element patent applIed only to the lowercase I, poInting out that Apple used the conventIon of begInnIng Its product brands wIth the lowercase I, as in "i-Phone" and "i-Pad."

The rulIng Is expected to have wIde-rangIng consequences beyond the companIes named In the suIt, Samsung, MIcrosoft and Google.  Just last nIght, Apple fIled an InjunctIon agaInst both the Wall Street Journal and the New York TImes for theIr "proflIgate and unauthorIzed use of the letter 'i'."

Analysts expect that the defendants In Apple's lawsuIt wIll fIle for an ImmedIate appeal of the decIsIon. In the meantIme, a spokesman for MIcrosoft stated the company wIll seek an InjunctIon agaInst the decIsIon, askIng the court to allow the use of the lowercase I In all  wrItten EnglIsh communIcatIon   untIl the appeal can be heard by a hIgher court.

The European UnIon announced an emergency conclave to assess the EU's vulnerabIlIty to sImIlar legal actIon already InItIated by Apple In BrItIsh court.

In a related event, Apple announced an upgrade In Its operatIng system, SIberIan KIller Man-EatIng Tiger 10.99, currently beIng automatIcally downloaded on all Apple computers connected to the Internet.  ThIs upgrade wIll automatIcally charge a user's i-Tunes (R) account nIne cents everytIme the user types a lowercase "i" on hIs keyboard.  The same upgrade Is beIng applIed to Apple i-OS, whIch powers Apple's i-Pad and i-Phone.