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NCR Claims Palm Infringes As "Personal Terminal"
Davis King writes: "NCR is claiming that two patents it received in 1987, for a 'portable personal terminal for use in a system for handling transactions' cover the palm pilot; it's suing Palm and Handspring for patent infringement. Yet another company trying to get ahead with lawyers instead of with engineers." According to the article, "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." What about my patent for a "medium-sized length of rope for use in jumping"?
Oh wait... I forgot, they don't make anything anymore...
MY BAD!
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"Don't trolls get tired?"
Federal rules require a jury to be demanded at every stage, or it is waived. This doesn't mean that they want a jury, just that they aren't ready to be precluded from the possibility.
hawk, esq.
If they were seriously after patent infringers, what about Microsoft and their gang of WinCE/PocketPC manufacturers?
Sounds like a moribund company trying to steal some free PR and possibly some settlement money, while staying away from antagonizing fish that are big enough to bite back...
The first one appears not to apply. The general claims are very broad, and would cover pretty much every portable device, as has been said elsewhere in this topic. The description, however, clearly describes a credit-card-sized device that plugs into the handheld for the purposes of user authentication, i.e. the handheld is not carried around with you like a palmtop, it is more like the PINpads at a checkout, only IR-connected rather than whatever goofy serial port they're using this week.
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E_NOSIG
and why they don't go after WinCE devices (isn't there pocket-access? How much more 'handheld and transaction' can you GET?!?!?!), or my web-enabled mobile phone, or, or, or....
-- You can't idiot-proof anything, because they're always coming out with better idiots.
Apple?
Casio?
Franklin?
NEC?
IBM?
Sony?
HP?
TRG?
Phillips?
Compaq?
whoever it is who is making the YOPY?
The difference between Theory and Practice is greater in Practice than in Theory.
Don't forget that NCR invented the idea of a palmtop "pen" computer in the late eighties and early ninties.
NCR, and later Apple, threw a lot of money at pen computing before Palm got it right. Did Palm learn from NCR's mistakes, or would they have gotten everything right on the first try?
I think that the entire case will come down to this statement (of course... I am a master of the obvious). But I think it will be shot down very simply because it is way too vague. If you look at this, they have patented not only PDA's, but also laptop computers (they are portable as well) and pretty much any device that is capable of handling a transaction and isn't tied down physically for some reason or another. (for that matter, a normal old PC could be considered that as you can technically port it around)
On a further note, if NCR wins this little legal battle, they will be in a good strategic position to start collecting on any use of wireless technology. Well, not all wireless technology, but pretty much everything that deals with small, portable devices that connect to a central system.
You know, look at is this way. NCR can gain nothing from this patent anymore, and they may have some spare cash sitting around. What do they have to lose by starting this lawsuit? Nothing really besides lawyers fees and bad PR.... and what do they have to gain? Well, they have the possibility of gaining a prior patent on one of the fastest growing sectors in technology. This could be viewed almost completely as a strategic move on their part... really crappy and pathetic, but strategic...
The article is light on details, but wouldn't cell phones be covered by this patent as well?
portable personal terminal for use in a system for handling transactions
It's called a checkbook
Ask BountyQuest to send me $10K
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Je t'aime Stéphanie
They (NCR) didn't give a crap about their patent until they realized they could possibly grift Handspring and Palm. I can just see the meeting that inspired this lawsuit (it probably involved some suit jotting a note on his PalmIII and saying "hey, wait a second guys!" NCR's really pushing it here.
Of course they only care about the companies that have had "tremendous commercial success." It's not like they raised this lawsuit years ago when Palm made its first product. Wait for success, then sue... now that's a good business model.
Developers: We can use your help.
This is not a Fugazi
They should sue the creators of Etcha Sketch as well !
http://logd.programgeeks.net/referral.php?r=lordv
...tender flaky golden cakey out-side...
wrap the inside in the outside what you get? darn tootin!
it's the FUCKING...
...APPLE...
NEWTOOOOOOOOOOON!
(Someone tell NCR they were beaten to it by a guy in a fig-suit.)
--Blair
From the article: In papers filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Delaware, NCR said, ``Palm and Handspring knew about the NCR patents, (but) chose not to seek licenses from NCR.'' The technology allows retail and consumer users access to and the ability to manage ``substantial'' amounts of information. The lawsuit cited two products, the Palm Pilot and Handspring Visor (news - web sites), as allegedly infringing devices that have had ''tremendous commercial success.''
Diplomacy is the art of letting people have your way