14 DAY TRIAL // IP-holder WhitServe has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut which alleges that Apple's Quick Look feature in OS X violates Patent No. 7,921,139, which describes a system for “sequentially opening and displaying files in a directory.”
Quick Look is a key function in OS X that enables users to preview several types of files (PDF, plain text, video and audio) without launching the actual applications designated for interpreting them.
WhitServe’s invention, according to AppleInsider, uses software to open and close files in a near-full view mode, and even allows editing. It also features a system to browse files – the file selector module – which sequentially moves through previews.
The plaintiff says the harm resulting from the Apple’s infringing actions is “irreparable, continuing, not fully compensable by money damages, and will continue unless enjoined by this Court.”
Apple is yet to respond to these claims.