“NTP, which holds a number of patents but doesn’t manufacture any products, filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia against Apple, Google, HTC Corp., LG Electronics Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Motorola Inc. over eight patents related to the wireless delivery of email to cellphones,” Cheng reports. “NTP has precedence–Research In Motion paid the company $612.5 million in a settlement to prevent a potential injunction of its popular Blackberry smartphones—which makes it a legitimate threat to other smartphone makers.”
Cheng reports, “NTP is a privately held company co-founded by inventor Thomas Campana to hold the patents on technology he developed throughout his career. NTP calls him ‘the inventor of wireless email.’ Mr. Campana, who died in 2004, held 50 patents.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz,” “Brawndo Drinker,” and “JES42” for the heads up.]
Another stupid company out to make a quik buck by doing absolutely nothing. The fact that they don’t manufacture anything but hold patents ONLY…this company needs to be sued as well.
Whether we like it or not, Patent holding companies are legal, too.
Inventors don’t necessarily have to be tied to production companies to reap the rewards of their inventions, and one way they can be rewarded for their inventions is to sell their ideas to patent holding companies. If production companies want to use such patents they can license them or purchase the patents or companies holding such patents.
When does a patent become invalid due to the item being patented is common, no longer unique in nature, and can be ‘invented’ by anyone using common knowledge?
I hope that by NTP taking on everyone, everyone will band together and make the case for this being common knowledge. NTP’s patent will become worthless.
In order to get Apple to pay, NTP Inc. is going to fight a powerful legal battle to prove its patent case. Jobs has not shown an inclination to avoid legal battles by agreeing to out of court settlements. He is smart enough to know that setting a poor legal precedent is a long term headache. He also might as well get some use out of the Apple legal staff.
If I cared enough, I would check into the content of those eight NTP wireless email patents. But I don’t, so I am just going to assume that they are as worthless as most of the patents that have been discussed in this forum over the years.
I have always felt that patents should only be given with the caveat that the company must produce and market a product using the patented idea within 2 – 5 years of the patent application or it is revoked.
Companies dealing only in “Intellectual” Property are no different than companies dealing in Dreams! Shall we patent dreams also? They are equally creative ideas of the mind with nothing material that exists in the real world !
If you can dream it, you can patent it. So, what is a patent? If it was first shown in a sci-fi movie or book, are they the founders? Should they get patents with their book or movie release?
What idiot is passing these out to people that have know idea how to do what they are dreaming of and will never take it to market!
iOS 4 is used in small multi-touch computer devices. Are all wireless computer sited in this patent lawsuit? These idiots have know idea how to make anything. So, just tell them them it is ESP not Wi-Fi.
And the Market shrugged.
I declare that Ballmer patents his poops. They are unique and deserve IP protection. Anyone agree?
NTP = Scum Of The Earth.
Thanks for sharing this article…
custom bedroom furniture
I hold the patents for Air,Food and Sex!!! Here I come Pay ME!!!!!
These guys are such a waste of DNA.
Parasites.
Here they blow again!
Remember kids,
-if you can Do, Sue!
-if you can Lead, Try Weed!
and
-if you can innovate, Masturrrrrrranother discipline!
@Wally World
I like the way you think. And well put. I think if an inventor patents something, he or she should have to produce something utilizing said patent or try to license it, not just sit on it until someone else invents it an tries to use it then sue them.
The patent that RIM paid up for was invalidated after RIM was convicted and monitary damagee were assessed. RIM was screwed when the bogus verdict was upheld in a higher court.
NTP better have something better up it’s sleeve this time.
NTP: Another tech community parasite on the prowl.
But it’s actually fair to say that the TechTardiness and bad practices of the US Patent Office are to blame for a hell of a lot of these ridiculous law suits.
@Davenzi…peddle your wares elswehere
NTP calls him ‘the inventor of wireless email’….
Inventor of wireless email? Unless he actually invented a method of wireless data transmission (which I’m sure he didn’t), it’s tantamount to saying he’s the “inventor of the wireless sitcom”…
There’s no such thing as “wireless email”!
There’s only (at least on all Apple’s devices) internet mail using the usual protocols (POP, IMAP, SMTP). And TCP/IP can be used with wires (ethernet) or no wires (WIFI).
End of Apple’s defense!
If a judge can’t understand that, then he should sell hot dogs on the street!
‘the inventor of wireless email.’
what the hell is that?
It’s email for gods sake… How can it be any different.
This shows how stupid software patents are.
And really, no one should be able to hold patents if they aren’t doing anything with them. This company does not produce anything, they just hold patents… They are of no use to humanity.
May Osama Binladen bomb NTP!