Openwave Systems sued Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) for infringing on its patents, becoming the latest company to jump into the fray over mobile patent disputes.
Openwave filed complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission and in federal court in Delaware against the two companies. The software company, a mobile Internet pioneer, sued the two smartphone makers for infringing on five of its patents related to the ways mobile devices connect to the Web. Openwave is seeking to block the importation of offending Apple and RIM devices, including the iPhone and iPad.
Representatives for Apple and RIM declined to comment.
The filings came after Openwave struck a deal on Monday with Myriad Group to get uncontested ownership of a portfolio of mobile Internet patents. Openwave paid $12 million for the patents and said it would look for ways to monetize its intellectual property.
"There are people in the world who deliver products into the market that are leveraging our patented technology," Openwave CEO Ken Denman told Bloomberg. The inventions are "foundational to the mobile Internet and we believe it's only right we get paid for the use of our foundational technology."
The patents at issue relate to a variety of tasks, including to the ability of a mobile device to access e-mail while the network is unavailable, cloud computing tasks, the ability to access to updated versions of applications on mobile devices, server interaction on a wireless network and Web browsing.
For more:
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Dow Jones Newswires article (sub. req.)
- see this AllThingsD article
Related Articles:
Kodak confirms patent sale, with wireless firms reportedly interested
Smartphone patent lawsuits' impact will trickle down to developers
Mobile patent fights heat up, starting with Microsoft-Motorola
Report: Nokia, Qualcomm join InterDigital patent fray
Verizon hopes Google-Motorola deal will cool patent wars