Q: If I manufacture an accessory for the Iphone, what keeps Apple from suing me and taking my product?

A: That is not how patents work. They do not have a patent on "the Iphone" . They have patents on very specific features that can be used on a mobile phone. They likely have lots of other patents. Unless you have all the required nouns and verbs in an independent claim of a patent that has been issued and is not expired or otherwise dead, you can do what you do. (There are trademark issues regarding the use of the name Iphone or Apple.)

Now if you are manufacturing something that is covered by one or more patent claims, you will be asked to stop or you will be sued.

This set of slides will allow you to do some initial looking for Apple patents on the type of accessory that you have made. http://bit.ly/Patent_Searching Patents from other companies may apply too.

After some preliminary looking, you should consult with a patent attorney.

If you found this answer helpful, you may want to look at my answers to other questions about patent law are available at the bottom of my profile page at

https://lawyers.justia.com/lawyer/kevin-e-flynn-880338

Kevin E Flynn

A: A patent would allow you to stop others from making the invention, using it, selling it and importing it.

A: Please note that this is a very broad question and can’t be answered without discussing your accessory with you and a good amount of research. However, Apple can only prevent you insofar as they have the right to do so (e.g., patents, trademarks, and copyrights).

First, Apple has numerous patents which are related to components of the iPhone. Here’s a search of applications and grants which are assigned to Apple. https://patents.google.com/?assignee=Apple&oq=Apple Lots of components, software, and patented designs, but none of them cover the iPhone entirely. They also have trademarks for words used to identify their brand, such as the words “Apple” and “iPhone” and/or copyrights (far less likely to be a concern for accessories, but possible).

Now, there’s a number of ways that Apple could use this to prevent you from making an accessory, such as (1) if your accessory includes a component that Apple has a utility patent on, (2) if your accessory uses trademarked branding, (3) if your accessory uses a design that Apple has a patent on, or other uses of intellectual property. Now, it’s hard to know what concerns you may have based on this discussion alone. However, if they don’t have one of these, they likely have no right to stop you from making or selling your accessory. Without discussing this with you personally, there’s really no way to completely answer this question.