Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is being sued once again over touchscreen patents. Taiwanese chip designer Elan Microelectronics is suing Apple for allegedly infringing on two of its “multi-touch” patents for the iPhone, iPod Touch and MacBook. Elan spokesperson Dennis Liu told the nytimes.com that the two companies had been in licensing talks for two years. Liu said, “We couldn’t find a common viewpoint with Apple, so we decided we had to take action.” The suit was filed Tuesday in San Francisco’s U.S. District Court. An Apple spokesperson declined comment.

The nytimes notes that its unclear as to what damages or remedial action the Taiwanese firm is seeking. Aside from possibly signing a licensing agreement and royalties from Apple, Taipei-based Credit Suisse analyst Jessica Chang said that Elan may be trying to “raise its market profile” with the suit. Chang also noted that Elan was likely spurred into action by its recent patent infringement victory against its US rival Synaptics, which included one of the patents its suing Apple over. Last year, Elan won a preliminary court injunction against its Synaptics, which had counter-sued it. The two companies later agreed to a cross-licensing deal allowing them to drop the suits.

Photo Credit: Randomix.