Apple, Google sued by mobile web pioneer

A pioneer in the field of mobile browsing has now set its sights on Google and Apple with a brand new patent lawsuit. A company called Unwired Planet, which used to be known as OpenWave (and helped to create the original mobile browser protocol known as WAP) has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against both Apple and Google, claiming it has patents related to their cloud messaging, content and mobile advertising applications. Unwired Planet started to transition away from actual mobile browsing last year, and is now basically a bundle of patents that the company is trying to "maximize shareholder value" with.

Of course, the courts will have to figure this one out, but it seems like Unwired is grabbing at straws here, hoping that one of their patents actually does apply so they can leech some licensing fees off of Google or Apple. Yes, if they did the work, they should reap the rewards, but this just smacks of desperation to me. Depending on what Unwired is actually asking for, they may even just be hoping that Apple or Google would rather pay out than worry about what happens in court. We'll see.