Stefan Mileschin

Boston University has been declared an enemy of the Apple religion after it went to court wanting a ban on a wide assortment of Fruity products and all the outfit's profits.

According to Gigaom, Boston University wants a federal court to ban the sale of the iPhone 5, the iPad and the MacBook Air because they infringe a patent issued to one of its professors in 1997.

The university said that Apple products contain a "gallium nitride thin film semiconductor device" that is still under patent protection.

Professor Theodore Moustakas applied for the patent in 1995, which means it is set to expire in 2015. The patent, which describes the use of nitrogen to prepare a type of film that is "a potential source of inexpensive and compact solid-state blue lasers".

It appears that Boston University is not only seeking an injunction banning the sale of a wide range of Apple products, but is also asking for a chunk of Apple's profits.

This means that Apple needs to hand over its earnings from the last few years.

What is more likely is that Apple will either pay for Boston University to go away, or fight hard in the courts. The Tame Apple Press is wading in on the side of Jobs' Mob moaning that the patent system is crushing innovation and wondering why it took Boston University so long to slap Jobs with a patent claim. Gigaom even appeals for people to "think of the children" at Boston University who will not be allowed to use Fruity toys if the claim is successful.

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