I didn't know what the 'NCR thing in the news' meant until I saw the following.
UPDATE 1-NCR sues Palm, Handspring over handheld patent
(Previous WILMINGTON, Del., adds details)
NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - Retail computer system maker NCR Corp. (NYSE:NCR) sued Palm Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) and Handspring Inc. (NASDAQ:HAND), alleging their popular hand-held computers infringed on two NCR-owned patents for a "portable personal terminal."
In papers filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Delaware, NCR, a leading maker of automatic teller machines and bar-code scanners, said the companies infringed upon two 1987 patents for a credit-card sized "portable personal terminal," with a module that could couple, or sync, with other systems.
"Palm and Handspring knew about the NCR patents, (but) chose not to seek licenses from NCR," the company said, adding that the technology allows users access to and the ability to manage "substantial" amounts of information.
The lawsuit cited two products, the Palm Pilot and Handspring Visor, as allegedly infringing devices that have had "tremendous commercial success."
A Handspring representative said the company the claim is without merit, and that its is working with Palm to defend it. Palm said it did not immediately have a comment.
NCR asked for a jury trial on its demands that Palm and Handspring be blocked from making any more of the products, and that NCR be awarded compensatory and actual damages.
Palm dominates the rapidly growing market for handheld computers, powerful pocket-sized personal organizers that can carry e-mail, contact lists and notes. Using a docking station, can swap data with a desktop or laptop computer.
Both Palm and Handspring, which makes the genre's second most popular gadgets, run on operating system software developed by Palm. The co-founders of Palm formed Handspring.
Several companies also sell handheld devices, albeit with far less popular success. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) makes software that drives competing handheld computers sold by companies such as Casio Computer Co. Ltd. (6952) and Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ)
None of these companies were named in the suit. Asked if NCR planned to expand its complaint to include other handheld device makers, an NCR spokesman said, "for now the complaint pertains directly to Palm and Handspring, and we don't want to speculate beyond what is contained in the complaint."
siliconinvestor.com |
