Touchscreen Gestures cries patent infringement

Touchscreen Gestures has claimed that Apple's iPhone and iPad infringe its touch-screen patents, The Inquirer reports.

Touchscreen Gestures seems to be nothing more than a shell company that has ownership of a number of patents that cover screen tapping and dragging gestures. The firm has also claimed that Samsung and Research In Motion (RIM) infringe its patents with their respective tablets.

Interestingly, the patents cited in the lawsuit are owned by Taiwan-based touch-pad maker Sentelic, and not Touchscreen Gestures, according to US Patent and Trademark Office filings, CNET writes.

That said, it's possible that Sentelic could have sold the patents to Touchscreen Gestures somewhat recently, and the paperwork is behind.

The mobile space is by no means a stranger to lawsuits. Over the last couple years, just about every prominent company, including Apple, Google and Samsung, has found its way into courtrooms to do battle over alleged patent infringement. However, in many of those cases, the plaintiffs have been major firms, and not unknown companies.