[Alpine]

Seven down, two to go


THE COUTROOM battles over wireless email software show no signs of abating.


Visto, which has just won a major court battle with arch-rival Seven, plans to take the fight to the Microsoft, Good Technology and that industry-leading Canadian company, Research in Motion (RIM).

According to a memo sent by Brian Bogosian, CEO with Visto, the jury's decision in Marshall, Texas is particularly significant since they found that Seven had willfully infringed on all four of Visto's patents in question.

Visto not only expects earn $3.5 million in damages plus its legal fees but also that Seven's products and services "will be enjoined from sale and use within the USA." That's pretty heavy duty since Seven is currently counter-suing Visto offer alleged infringement of its own patents.

So what next? "This is a significant milestone that will affect our ongoing litigation with Good and Microsoft. This validation of our patents by the federal court system is further proof of the strength and viability of Visto's intellectual property," claimed Brian Bogosian in the memo.

Visto hasn't finished chatting to the Beast of Redmond about alleged patent infringements in its Windows Mobile 5.0 offering. So it should be some time before a law suit finally emerges.

Furthermore, two of NTP's patents have been thrown out by the US Patent Office. NTP, you will recall, only recently settled for $615 million with RIM. And thanks to a cross-licensing agreement, NTP now owns a chunk of Visto (and vice versa, of course). Having won against Seven, Visto has now taken RIM to the same court in Texas. It's all very impressive stuff. Daniel Mendez, Visto's co-founder, recently told the INQ that his company's litigation department was minute. "It's only me and one counsel (Tim Robbins). I'll be doing my bench presses," he said.

The INQuirer