Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen Refiles Apple Patent Lawsuit

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen refiled a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple and several other companies on Tuesday, just ahead of a court imposed deadline. The original case was tossed out in early December when a Federal Judge said the complaint was too vague.

The amended complaint includes details that weren’t included in the original filing, and also sports 40 exhibits showing the alleged patent infringement in action, according to the Seattle Times. ALong with Apple, Google, Facebook, Office Depot, OfficeMax, staples, Yahoo, YouTube, Netflix and eBay are named in the filing.

What? Me worry?Paul Allen hopes his lawsuit sticks this time

Mr. Allen’s Interval Licensing filed the lawsuit on behalf of Interval Research Corporation, a company he co-founded in 1992 with David Liddle. Interval Research closed its doors in 2000, but its patents are apparently still alive and kicking, and under the watchful care of Mr. Allen’s Interval Licensing.

The patents Mr. Allen is hoping to protect describe “a browser for use in navigating a body of information, with particular application to browsing information represented by audiovisual data,” an “attention manager for occupying the peripheral attention of a person in the vicinity of a display device,” and a system for “alerting users to items of current interest.”

The amended filing includes examples showing iTunes Store suggestions for music a customer may be interested in based on the album they have currently selected.

The original lawsuit was dismissed because U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman ruled “The allegations in the complaint are spartan.” Mr. Allen was given until December 28 to file an amended complaint, and at the time his legal team said “The case is staying on track.”

Apple hasn’t commented on the amended complaint.