UPDATE: Patent Giant Targets Telecom Firms
February 16 2012 - 2:46PM
Dow Jones News
Intellectual Ventures, an intellectual property firm that's
amassed tens of thousands of patents, has sued telecom firms
including AT&T Inc. (T) and T-Mobile USA Inc. for
infringement.
The complaint filed Thursday in a Delaware court marks an
additional lawsuit from a firm that has raised some concern as it
wields a considerable patent portfolio.
Bellevue, Wash.-based Intellectual Ventures, which has some
35,000 patents and patent applications, was founded in 2000 by
former Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) executive Nathan Myhrvold.
The firm has tapped thinkers, including Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates, to develop some of its own innovations, while purchasing
most of its patents.
Intellectual Ventures alleges in its complaint Thursday that
defendants AT&T, T-Mobile and units of Sprint Nextel Corp. (S)
have infringed on 15 of its patents.
The patents relate to technology such as the sending of messages
between mobile devices and blocking service over a telecom
network.
Intellectual Ventures acquired the patents rather than
developing them internally, according to the firm's Chief
Litigation Counsel Melissa Finocchio.
Finocchio said that Intellectual Ventures reached out to the
telecom firms over "many months" about reaching a licensing deal
for the patents, though the firms proved "unresponsive, and
uninterested."
Representatives from AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint all declined
comment.
Intellectual Ventures had avoided filing lawsuits over its
patents until late 2010, when it sued a number of firms, including
security software maker Symantec Corp. (SYMC).
Last fall, Intellectual Ventures sued Motorola Mobility Holdings
Inc. (MMI) for alleged patent infringement. Motorola is being
acquired by Google Inc. (GOOG), in large part due to its
considerable arsenal of patents.
Intellectual Ventures has previously disclosed that Google,
Microsoft and Apple Inc. (AAPL) have a financial interest in the
firm.
Intellectual Ventures has drawn fire from some critics who
question a business model that involves developing ideas, rather
than using ideas to support a business model other than licensing
intellectual property.
The firm states in its complaint filed Thursday that it has paid
inventors more than $400 million for their inventions, and has
pulled in more than $2 billion in licensing revenue to date.
In the complaint, Intellectual Ventures seeks a jury trial and
unspecified compensation.
-By John Letzing, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230;
john.letzing@dowjones.com
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