iPhone developer sues Coors for $12.5M

Hottrix, a small company that developed the iBeer application for iPhone and iPod Touch devices is suing Coors for $12.5M.

The claim, in a 12 page filing, is that rival application iPint is violating a copyright that the iBeer author Steve Sheraton registered.

Both applications display a virtual pint which when the device is tipped to one side mimics a real pint of lager being consumed.

Sheraton stresses that the iBeer technique was "wholly original ... and is copyrightable subject matter." Sheraton then complained to Apple, which eventually removed iPint from the App Store in the United States. However, iPint still appears in the App Store in other countries.

"We are confident that we've handled this matter appropriately, and will vigorously defend the action," Coors said in a statement.