Judge affirms decision granting Visto USD 7.7 million — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{Mobile email patent suits churn thru courts} Judge affirms decision granting Visto USD 7.7 million

24 Dec 2006 at 10:51 GMT Timo Poropudas

The ruling, issued late Tuesday by U.S. District Judge T. John Ward in Texas, affirms earlier decision of the same court. Paul Hedman, managing director of Seven’s EMEA/APAC/LATAM/CHINA regions, comments that his company is appealing and the fine is not enforceable: “We are not paying anything for the moment.” “The decision only related to S7 –mail system and US not AOM (Always On Mail) or the international market. However there is a workaround done on the S7 platform to avoid potential patent infringements,” Hedman says. According to him the ruling has no impact on the company’s customer base and products. Besides Seven Networks, Redwood Shores-based Visto has sued rival Good Technology, Microsoft and Research In Motion, the maker of the ubiquitous BlackBerry device that helps keep workers connected to their jobs even when they are out of the office. In its late April decision, a Texas jury concluded Seven Networks should pay royalties totaling USD 3.6 million to compensate Visto for years of patent violations.