Minerva Industries claims rights to smartphones

According to Mobile Gazette a company called Minerva Industries has been granted a patent that effectively covers most modern smartphones and multimedia phones, meaning many of the manufacturers of these devices are now being sued for infringement by the Californian based company. These include Apple, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, RIM and HTC.

US Patent 7,321,783 filed with the US patent office in November 2003 covers "A mobile entertainment and communication device in a palm-held size housing" and follows on from another patent filed in March 2000.

More here