Apple usually on the defensive when it comes to intellectual-property lawsuits, is threatening to use its hoard of patents to quash iPhone competitors.
Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer, pledged in January to go after companies that copy the iPhone’s patented features. Apple won its latest patent Jan. 20 for so-called multitouch technology, which lets people work the iPhone by touching the screen with two fingers and making swiping motions.
Cook’s comments don’t mean Apple will actually seek a court order to stop the Pre, which is due for release in the next few months. Instead, the company may try to intimidate Palm and other rivals into working around its patents, forcing them to cut features or delay production.
Apple is turning the iPhone into its third main business, alongside the Macintosh computer and iPod. The company surpassed a goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008, and may sell 28 million units this year, according to Piper Jaffray & Co.