A company known as NTP has filed a case against Apple, Google, HTC, LG, Microsoft and Motorola alleging violation of its patents relating to wireless email delivery. In 2001, the company filed a similar case against Research In Motion. RIM had to pay $612 million in the settlement. RIM is not named in the new suit. Nokia isn’t either because it has a licensing agreements with the company.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals has ruled that 67 of NTP’s patent claims in four patents are valid. Google, Apple and others appear to have the odds against them because they all provide wireless access to email. In other words, NTP’s intellectual property appears to be in use without permission or licensing.
After the settlement with RIM in 2006, NTP filed a suit against Palm for similar patent infringements. However, the case has not gone anywhere. The lawsuit has been put on hold nor has NTP succeeded in chalking out any deal with Palm.
The companies named in the suit have not released any press statements as of writing.
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