Court Dismisses NCR Suit Against Palm

Posted By: Ryan on Friday, August 29, 2003 9:59:10 AM

In March of 2001, computer system maker NCR Corp. sued Palm Inc. and Handspring on the grounds that their handheld computers infringed on two NCR-owned patents. Last summer a Judge ruled neither company infringed and yesterday, the ruling was upheld and the case dismissed.

In July of last year a US District Judge ruled that neither company had infringed on the patents. U.S. District Judge Kent Jordan in Wilmington, Delaware, upheld the finding that the two makers of handheld devices didn't rely upon patented technology owned by NCR for a personal terminal. The case is now dismissed.

Founded in 1884 as National Cash Register, NCR now sells software and hardware such as scanners and ATM machines for the retail and financial industries. The two NCR patents in question were for a "Portable personal terminal for use in a system for handling transactions," and for a "System for handling transactions including a portable personal terminal."

Thanks to Guarav for the tip.

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Patents..

Gepeto @ 8/29/2003 10:33:40 AM #

On something-broad that does something-very-broad.. Thank god some judges can still think!

RE: Patents..

dgerard @ 9/1/2003 7:50:55 AM #

And hopefully at least one more lawyer decides to retire earlier than he/she planned...and with less money!

Suits anywhere you look

amflores @ 8/29/2003 10:34:29 AM #

Well, it seems that you can sue palm for infringing patents on almost anything you can hold in your hand or is portable...

Now I wonder... how many of those suits reffer to 3rd party software that makes the handheld capable of something instead the handheld or its OS? Or is palm guilty just for let the options open?

Anyhow, its just stupid

Finally logic perseveres!

Quik_Fix @ 8/29/2003 12:40:26 PM #

Jesus! I remember this stupid lawsuit. I'm glad its over. Sorry, you overbloated mongering cash cows, no free money for you here! Build your own friggin device.

Now let's hope the same thing happens in the e-pass suit, which is obviously as big a load as this is.

I think I'll get a patent on "An object with corners made of anything that does anything for any purpose for anyone anywhere all the time with one or more screens, electricity, batteries, wireless, sound, and buttons."

Then I can sue THE UNIVERSE!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Ahem.
Beg your pardon.
Gets the best of me sometimes.

Oh my God. They found me. I dunno how but they found me...
RUN FOR IT MARTY!

Quik_Fix
quikfix@hotmail.com

RE: Finally logic perseveres!

mikemusick @ 8/29/2003 1:53:12 PM #

>no free money

Hardly. The lawyers all got paid. Patent attorneys command the highest fees of any of the law specialties.

Specious intellectual property suits like these basically amount to rolling the dice. Your hope is that you settle out of court because even if you know you're going to lose, your "victim" is going to be forced to run-up hundreds of thousands in legal fees, especially once it gets on the docket. So you force a choice - half a mill to this b@stard who says he has something, or half a mill to the lawyers. It's a corrupt system, but given that most of our lawmakers are... gee, who'd a thunk?... lawyers, there's little interest in fixing it.

RE: Finally logic perseveres!

southbound747 @ 8/29/2003 4:24:30 PM #

well at least this sets a good precedent in palm's favor on the suit being brought by xexox.

Palm Software on sale