In a world where anything can be patented and then subsequently
leveraged in a lawsuit, it should come as no surprise that the lawsuit-
magnet that is the iPhone has come under legal attack once again. This
time, Romek Figa of Abraham & Son has filed suit in Massachusetts
against Apple, claiming that "certain Apple telephones" infringe on
Figa's patent that displays the incoming phone number alongside the
incoming caller's name.

The patent outlines a method that checks the incoming phone number
against the contacts stored in a device and displays the contact name
when a match is found. And, it seems that the iPhone (along with every
other mobile phone we've used recently) does indeed tread on that
patent description. The iPhone displays the incoming phone number as
well as the caller name (and even picture) if the incoming phone
number is in the iPhone's contact database.

Figa has apparently contacted Apple to get some sort of licensing deal
down on paper, but Cupertino responded that they are not willing to
make any agreement based "on the terms offered."

The lawsuit includes a jury trial request, and if Figa is found to be
in the right, Apple could be forced to stop selling the iPhone.