Sanho Corporation, the company behind the well-known HyperMac external batteries, is being sued by Apple for violation of the company's MagSafe and 30-pin iPod connection patents. Apple filed a lawsuit (PDF) this month (via AppleInsider), accusing Sanho of selling products that make use of Apple's proprietary technology without authorization.
Sanho/HyperMac's product line has become fairly well known among laptop power users who travel—the company sells high-capacity external batteries that can connect to any MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air in order to juice up the machine's internal battery or keep it going for hours beyond its normal capacity. (We here at Ars are fans of HyperMac products.) The HyperMac brand recently added connectors to its batteries to allow users to charge their iPads through Apple's 30-pin connector, so the same battery can service both your MacBook and your other Apple portable devices.
Apple offers licenses for its 30-pin connector so that accessory makers can sell products to go with Apple's iDevices, but the company keeps the MagSafe connector to itself. Apparently, Sanho has authorization to sell neither: in its complaint, Apple accuses the company of violating six of its patents related to both technologies. Apple says Sanho's alleged infringement has caused damage to Apple's business, and wants a permanent injunction against the company (as well as unspecified damages).
The catch here is that Sanho's products don't actually recreate Apple's technologies—or at least that's what the company says on its website. The product pages on the HyperMac site says that the products come with "original MacSafe power connector[s] for maximum compatibility." Basically, Sanho says it's reusing Apple's own connectors in the sale of its own products, and the same goes for the 30-pin iPad connector.
If that is in fact the case, Apple may find itself butting up against the patent version of the first sale doctrine (commonly called the "exhaustion doctrine"), which limits the patent owner's control over patented items after it has been sold the first time. Apple's customers can generally do what they please with Apple's products after purchasing them, including selling them to other parties.
The concept has been hotly debated in court as of late, however, so there's no guarantee of who will win if this case goes to court. Apple will undoubtedly defend its patents aggressively, and Sanho will likely have to show that Apple's patent products were bought and modified lawfully in the US before they were resold to customers as HyperMac products.
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