tmobilefan
09-13-2007, 04:08 PM
AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp., the biggest U.S. wireless carriers, were sued by NTP Inc. over patent-infringement claims similar to those it made against the owner of the BlackBerry e-mail device.
Closely held NTP, a technology-licensing company, claims AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint are violating eight patents for e-mail services. They include some that were part of NTP's patent case against Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry. NTP wants royalties based on sales of phones, personal digital assistants and other e-mail devices.
"This is a natural progression that NTP is trying to follow," said Robert Sterne, a patent lawyer with Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox in Washington who isn't involved in the case. "NTP's trying to forge ahead with a licensing program, but it is encountering a lot of difficulty."
NTP's lawsuit against Research In Motion ended with a $612.5 million settlement last year. The complaints against AT&T, Sprint and Verizon were filed Sept. 7 in federal court in Richmond, Va., where the Research In Motion case was heard. Advertisement
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"Verizon's continued infringement with its present knowledge of NTP's patent rights and their relevance to defendant's operations is reckless and willful," Richmond-based NTP said in the complaint against Verizon Wireless.
The licensing company also sued Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA, the fourth-biggest U.S. wireless provider. Spokesman Peter Dobrow said the company had no comment.
NTP has signed agreements with Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, and Good Technology Inc., now owned by Motorola Inc., so phones under those licenses won't be affected by the cases.
Spokespeople for Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint had no comment.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is reviewing the patents and has issued rejection notices on them. NTP is appealing. Until the appeal is completed, the patents remain valid.
NTP also sued Palm Inc., maker of the Treo e-mail device. That case was put on hold in March pending completion of the patent office's review.
Sterne said the suits against AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint also are likely to be put on hold.
STLtoday - Business - Story (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/0/C2E6812DBAFEBE71862573550008EA7F?OpenDocument)
Closely held NTP, a technology-licensing company, claims AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint are violating eight patents for e-mail services. They include some that were part of NTP's patent case against Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry. NTP wants royalties based on sales of phones, personal digital assistants and other e-mail devices.
"This is a natural progression that NTP is trying to follow," said Robert Sterne, a patent lawyer with Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox in Washington who isn't involved in the case. "NTP's trying to forge ahead with a licensing program, but it is encountering a lot of difficulty."
NTP's lawsuit against Research In Motion ended with a $612.5 million settlement last year. The complaints against AT&T, Sprint and Verizon were filed Sept. 7 in federal court in Richmond, Va., where the Research In Motion case was heard. Advertisement
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"Verizon's continued infringement with its present knowledge of NTP's patent rights and their relevance to defendant's operations is reckless and willful," Richmond-based NTP said in the complaint against Verizon Wireless.
The licensing company also sued Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA, the fourth-biggest U.S. wireless provider. Spokesman Peter Dobrow said the company had no comment.
NTP has signed agreements with Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, and Good Technology Inc., now owned by Motorola Inc., so phones under those licenses won't be affected by the cases.
Spokespeople for Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint had no comment.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is reviewing the patents and has issued rejection notices on them. NTP is appealing. Until the appeal is completed, the patents remain valid.
NTP also sued Palm Inc., maker of the Treo e-mail device. That case was put on hold in March pending completion of the patent office's review.
Sterne said the suits against AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint also are likely to be put on hold.
STLtoday - Business - Story (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/0/C2E6812DBAFEBE71862573550008EA7F?OpenDocument)