r....Re...(patent legalities )..should have posted the whole article...here it is..........although the speculative wording "May" result in a patent battle "....is used
05/16/2000
Dow Jones News Services
(Copyright ¸ 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
By Stuart Weinberg
TORONTO (Dow Jones)--The conditional patent obtained by Cell-Loc Inc. (T.CLQ) for the
delivery of its handset-based wireless location services over the Internet could represent a blow to its
competitors, a senior company official told Dow Jones.
"We're trying to give a heads-up to the industry that we have secured a broad patent that comes to
bear on a lot of the business that (our competitors) are conducting, or that they intend to conduct,"
said Cell-Loc executive vice-president Lew Turnquist.
Cell-Loc filed the patent application two years ago, but didn't discuss it publicly, Turnquist said.
"(The application) could be a surprise to a lot of people," he said.
The company was asked by the U.S. patent office to make some minor terminology changes to the
patent, which aren't expected to cause any problems, Turnquist said. A similar patent application for
the company's network-based wireless services over the Internet has also been filed, he said, adding
he doesn't see any reason why it won't be approved shortly.
In Toronto trading Tuesday, Cell-Loc is up 4.75, or 20%, to 27.95 on about 76,000 shares.
(MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 05-16-00
12:26 PM
=DJ Cell-Loc/Patent -2: Network Operational In Summer >T.CLQ
Cell-Loc Inc. (T.CLQ) executive vice-president Lew Turnquist said the company expects its
network-tracking solution to be operational in one U.S. city - which he declined to identify -
sometime this summer.
The company will offer a suite of tracking services, including enhanced 411 and vehicle-fleet
monitoring, Turnquist said. For example, a company with a vehicle fleet will be able to place cellular
phones in its vehicles, then track the vehicles via a Web browser using Cell-Loc's technology, he
said.
Other companies attempting to employ similar technology and use it over the Internet risk violating
Cell-Loc's patents, Turnquist said.
Elliot Hamilton, senior vice-president of the Strategis Group, a Washington, D.C., telecom research
firm, said Cell-Loc's patent news takes direct aim at rival Snaptrack Inc.
Snaptrack, which offers a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) tracking system, was acquired by
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) in January for US$1 billion. "Qualcomm bought Snaptrack for the patent
and intellectual property rights to its GPS location solution," he said. "Cell-Loc's patent tries to get
into the same market segment, and may result in a patent battle over future royalty fees."
Officials from Snaptrack weren't immediately available for comment.
Hamilton said that the cellular-phone-location-services market is an emerging and explosive market
that is expected to generate US$4 billion in revenue by 2004. To date, however, no major contracts
have been signed by any cellular-phone-location company, he said.
Cell-Loc plans to spend US$1 billion to build its cellular-location network in the U.S., Turnquist said.
The company is targeting "wireless Internet dot-com" companies, he said. In certain instances, the
company will also market its products directly to consumers, he said.
Negotiations to deploy the company's hardware in the cellular base-station towers of major U.S.
wireless companies, such as AT&T Wireless Group Corp. (AWE) and Verizon Wireless (X.VRZ),
are continuing, Turnquist said. In exchange for access to the towers, Cell-Loc is offering free 911
tracking services, which wireless companies must have in place by October 2001, according to a
mandate by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Cell-Loc's network-tracking technology
depends on access to base-station towers.
Meanwhile, Cell-Loc has gone forward with the deployment of its network by renting space from
companies such as Castle Crown International Corp. (TWRS) and American Tower Corp. (AMT),
which own and operate base-station towers independently of wireless companies, Turnquist said. He
declined to say when the company expects to complete its network.
Last fall, Cell-Loc raised C$50 million, which was used to finance construction of its network in the
unidentified U.S. city, Turnquist said. The company plans to raise more money through a combination
of debt and equity financing, he said, though he declined to say how much money, or when the
financing would take place.
-Stuart Weinberg, Dow Jones Newswires; 416-306-2032
|
