IBM, Oracle and SAP sued over server software technology patents

IBM, SAP and Adobe Systems are the latest targets of patent lawsuits filed by Implicit Networks.

Implicit claims the companies "are violating two patents for computer-server software that performs faster security functions," Bloomberg News reported. Implicit filed its lawsuit in Washington Western District Court on July 15, just five months after suing AMD, Intel, Nvidia, Sun, Raza Microelectronics and RealNetworks in the same venue.

While the first Implicit Networks lawsuit puts rivals AMD and Intel on the same side in court, the July lawsuit also places rivals Oracle and SAP together as defendants. Oracle, meanwhile, is still pursuing a legal action against SAP, which claims SAP illegally accessed Oracle's customer support systems.

The Implicit lawsuit against AMD and Intel centers around a 2003 patent covering technology for "demultiplexing packets of a message."

In the new lawsuit, Bloomberg reports that Implicit Networks is seeking royalties from such products as IBM's Websphere Application Server, Oracle's Application Server and BEA WebLogic Server, SAP's NetWeaver and Adobe's JRun and ColdFusion. The suit centers around two patents issued to Implicit after applications filed by the company in 1998 and 2001. IBM, Oracle, SAP and Adobe are expected to issue formal responses in court by Sept. 18, Bloomberg reports.