Apple is being sued for patent infringement by Softview over the way it displays mobile content on its iPhone and iPod touch devices. According to court documents filed in the District of Delaware, Softview alleges that Apple is infringing on its so-called ‘353 patent, issued to Gary Rohrabaugh and Scott Sherman, and owned by Softview. The patent describes the “Scalable Display of Internet Content on Mobile Devices.”

Specifically the abstract of the ‘353 patent says:

Mobile devices enabled to support resolution-independent scalable display of Internet (Web) content to allow Web pages to be scaled (zoomed) and panned for better viewing on smaller screen sizes. The mobile devices employ software-based processing of original Web content, including HTML-based content, XML, cascade style sheets, etc. to generate scalable content. The scalable content and/or data derived therefrom are then employed to enable the Web content to be rapidly rendered, zoomed, and panned. Moreover, the rendered displays provide substantially the same or identical layout as the original Web page, enabling users to easily navigate to selected content and features on familiar Web pages. Display lists may also be employed to provide further enhancements in rendering speed. Additionally, hardware-based programmed logic may be employed to facilitate various operations.

The lawsuit also names AT&T because it sells the iPhone in the U.S.

Softview is asking the court for a preliminary and permanent injunction against Apple, and an unspecified amount of cash.