Out-Law News 1 min. read

Palm to appeal Graffiti case against Xerox


A US court yesterday ruled that Xerox's handwriting recognition patent called “Unistrokes” is valid and was infringed upon by Palm Inc. and its former parent 3Com in their personal digital assistants (PDAs) which use the popular Graffiti recognition system. Palm has said it will appeal the ruling.

Judge Michael Telesca of the US District Court for the Western District of New York ruled in the lawsuit originally filed by Xerox that the company's “656 patent is valid and enforceable,” and that the “Graffiti product infringes” it.

Xerox will seek damages in the next phase of the trial. The trial court will determine the amount of damages for past infringement of the patent and Palm's ability to continue to use the technology. If the court deems the infringement wilful, it can triple the amount of damages due to Xerox. Both Palm and 3Com are jointly and separately liable.

“Either Palm will have to cease production of its handheld organiser or license the technology from Xerox," said Christina Clayton, Xerox general counsel.

In April 1997, Xerox sued US Robotics, later acquired by 3Com, claiming that the handwriting recognition technology marketed as Graffiti and used in Palm handheld devices infringed a Xerox patent received in January the same year.

The news is another heavy blow for Palm which on Wednesday announced a second quarter loss of $54.2 million on revenues of $290 million. The loss was marginally less severe than had been anticipated. Last year, Palm reported revenues of $522 million for the same quarter.

Palm later announced that it will appeal the decision. Eric Benhamou, chairman and CEO of Palm, said last night: “We assert that the Graffiti handwriting technology does not infringe the Xerox patent and that Palm has strong arguments to support its defence. Palm will defend itself vigorously and does not intend for this litigation to affect its business strategy or business model nor that of its licensees.” Its best known licensee is Handspring, maker of the Visor range.

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