Following its successful patent suit against Research in Motion, NTP has now set its sites on the major telcos.
NTP, a patent holding company based in Arlington, Va., is suing Verizon, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA for infringing on several of its patents, all of which are related to the delivery of e-mail to mobile devices. In their new round of suits, NTP is alleging that some of the telcos’ new e-mail-to-mobile services, such as those delivered by the T-Mobile Wing and AT&T Xpress Mail, infringe upon their patent rights. NTP wants an injunction and is demanding unspecified damages.
Read an FAQ on what the NTP suits might mean for you.
Five of the eight patents being used in the telco cases were the subject of NTP’s 2001 patent suit against Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry. In November 2002, a jury found that RIM infringed upon NTP’s patents. The case continued to make headlines until 2006, when RIM agreed to pay NTP a settlement of $612.5 million, nearly four years after RIM had first been found guilty of infringing on NTP’s patents.
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Comments (16)
RE: NTP sues Verizon, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-MobileBy Anonymous on September 12, 2007, 3:28 pmDoesn't NTP have anything better to then go on a legal feeding frenzy, and just making their lawyers money. Why do company's like this even exist, or better yet...
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Are you kidding?By Anonymous on September 12, 2007, 3:39 pmWow. I didn't think ANYONE would defend a telco in the IT biz. How many times have the telcos treaded all over us and then snubbed us with their usual attitude...
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Are YOU kidding?By Anonymous on September 12, 2007, 3:54 pmI work with these telcos every day, and I think you're the one that' out to lunch - they're not perfect, but the first poster was right on the mark - the only thing...
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NTP the patent trollBy Anonymous on September 12, 2007, 4:16 pmThe wikipedia definition of NTP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTP,_Inc.
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This is really the way theBy dvjeep on September 12, 2007, 4:19 pmThis is really the way the patent industry works today. Companies are patenting new ideas, sitting on them for years, then suing for damages and royalties after...
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Question: What's theBy Anonymous on September 12, 2007, 4:29 pmQuestion: What's the difference between a catfish and a lawyer? Answer: One is a scum-sucking bottom feeder. The other is a fish.
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