Apple pays $5 million to settle patent lawsuit with Taiwanese chipmaker Elan

Apple has agreed to pay Taiwanese chip and touch screen maker Elan Microelectronics Corp. $5 million to finalise an out-of-court settlement over accusations that the Cupertino-based company had infringed on its touch-based patents.

Elan Microelectronics Corp. filed a complaint asserting infringement of ‘352 and other patents in the Northern District of California in April 2009. Apple counterclaimed, asserting that Elan infringed multiple Apple patents and until today, a decision had been pending.

Previously, Apple had defended additional claims that it had infringed on touchscreen technology in a Section 337 litigation, bringing it before the U.S International Trade Commission. Elan sought to block imports of Apple’s MacBook products, the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

The patent — U.S. Patent Number 5,825,352 (“Multiple fingers contact sensing method for emulating mouse buttons and mouse operations on a touch sensor pad”) — was investigated by the ITC in April 2010, but the commission ruled in June 2010 that Elan had failed to prove that Apple had infringed on its patent.

Newswire CNA reports details the agreement between Apple and Elan announced today:

The two parties have come to an agreement that they have interactive authorization of patents, with the U.S. high-tech giant giving US$5 million to the Taiwanese firm, according to Elan.

Apple is fighting numerous patent battles around the world, claiming that Samsung and HTC have infringed on technologies protected by the company. The Cupertino-based company licensed patents registered by Nokia last year, following a lengthy court battle between the smartphone makers.