Firm That Beat BlackBerry Targets Telcos

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: September 19, 2007 7:02:03 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Firm That Beat BlackBerry Targets Telcos

Firm That Beat BlackBerry Targets Telcos

By Andrew Noyes

<http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/2007/09/ 
firm_that_beat_blackberry_targ.html>

(Wednesday, September 12) The patent-holding firm NTP, best known for  
its landmark lawsuit against the BlackBerry maker Research In Motion,  
quietly filed complaints last week against several of the nation's  
largest wireless carriers.

Virginia-based NTP sued AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and Verizon  
Communications for alleged patent infringement in the same Virginia  
federal court that heard the BlackBerry case. Ontario-based RIM  
settled that dispute with NTP for about $612.5 million last year.

NTP is now accusing the wireless firms of violating eight patents for  
e-mail services, including some that were detailed in NTP's case  
against RIM. In its filings, NTP asked the court for royalties based  
on sales of telephones, personal digital assistants and other devices  
capable of sending and receiving e-mail.

NTP's complaint against AT&T claims that it asserted its patents to  
the telecommunications giant in January 1999 and offered to license  
them but received "no substantive reply." Since then, AT&T has  
"continued to infringe the patents-in-suit, despite its knowledge of  
them and in reckless disregard for NTP's patent rights," NTP argues.

Hardware manufacturers whose devices are sold by AT&T have licensing  
deals with NTP, which "provide[s] further evidence that AT&T  
knowingly, recklessly and willfully infringes the patents-in-suit,"  
NTP said. In addition to RIM, Visto, Nokia and Good Technology are  
licensees.

AT&T spokesman Dave Pacholczyk said the company has received the  
complaint but could not comment until it has been thoroughly  
reviewed. Rory Radding, a partner at Morrison & Foerster, simply  
said, "It looks like round two is beginning."

During the long-running RIM case, the BlackBerry producer filed a  
dozen requests for re-examination of NTP patents with the Patent and  
Trademark Office. In two cases, the agency rejected NTP's patent  
claims, but the firm appealed those decisions. The PTO's work is  
ongoing.

Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said NTP is now "betting on the  
assumption" that those patents will be enforced. "RIM had to pay  
because they were in legal limbo. Those conditions no longer exist,"  
he said. "If I were those carriers I would fight NTP."

[snip]

Posted by Michael Martinez on September 18, 2007 3:49 PM



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