NEW YORK—Patent-holding Company NTP Inc. is suing six major smartphone companies for patent infringement.
NTP, which received a $612 million settlement after a similar lawsuit against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, Ltd. (RIM), has filed lawsuits against Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Google Inc., HTC Corp., Motorola Inc., and South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc.
NTP, which does not commercially manufacture any communications devices, sued RIM in 2000 over several wireless e-mail technologies. RIM settled the suit in 2006 and is paying certain royalties to use the technology.
Microsoft and Google do not manufacture smartphones, but make the operating system software for phones running Windows Mobile and Android, respectively.
“Use of NTP’s intellectual property without a license is just plain unfair to NTP and its licensees,” said Donald Stout, NTP’s cofounder in a statement.
A report by the Wall Street Journal said that NTP’s new lawsuits allege similar offenses to its RIM lawsuit. NTP’s patents over wireless communication expire in 2012.
Na Ju-yeong, a spokesperson at LG, said, “We have yet to receive a written complaint yet,” according to Korean news media JoongAng Daily. According to LG, sales of Optimus Q, its Android-based smartphone, has exceeded the company’s sales expectations.
HTC, the Taiwan-based smartphone maker, is a leading manufacturer of Android-based devices. It currently manufactures Nexus One, Sprint’s EVO 4G, and T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G. Motorola makes the “Droid” series of Android phones for Verizon Wireless in the United States.
NTP was founded by inventor Thomas Campana.
NTP, which received a $612 million settlement after a similar lawsuit against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, Ltd. (RIM), has filed lawsuits against Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Google Inc., HTC Corp., Motorola Inc., and South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc.
NTP, which does not commercially manufacture any communications devices, sued RIM in 2000 over several wireless e-mail technologies. RIM settled the suit in 2006 and is paying certain royalties to use the technology.
Microsoft and Google do not manufacture smartphones, but make the operating system software for phones running Windows Mobile and Android, respectively.
“Use of NTP’s intellectual property without a license is just plain unfair to NTP and its licensees,” said Donald Stout, NTP’s cofounder in a statement.
A report by the Wall Street Journal said that NTP’s new lawsuits allege similar offenses to its RIM lawsuit. NTP’s patents over wireless communication expire in 2012.
Na Ju-yeong, a spokesperson at LG, said, “We have yet to receive a written complaint yet,” according to Korean news media JoongAng Daily. According to LG, sales of Optimus Q, its Android-based smartphone, has exceeded the company’s sales expectations.
HTC, the Taiwan-based smartphone maker, is a leading manufacturer of Android-based devices. It currently manufactures Nexus One, Sprint’s EVO 4G, and T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G. Motorola makes the “Droid” series of Android phones for Verizon Wireless in the United States.
NTP was founded by inventor Thomas Campana.
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