Visto Wins Patent Case, Sues RIM

Wireless e-mail firm Visto said Monday that it had won a patent infringement case against Seven Networks, and upon receipt of the verdict it filed another lawsuit against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. Monday's victory could also give Visto leverage in its ongoing suits against Microsoft and Good Technology.

A federal jury said Seven had infringed on three patents regarding Visto's mobile e-mail system, and awarded the company $3.6 million in damages. However, Seven says it plans to appeal the verdict and is still pursuing attempts to have Visto's patents thrown out.

"Friday's sweeping decision against Seven Networks validates our claims that Visto's intellectual property serves as the basis for this industry's birth," Visto president, chairman and CEO Brian Bogosian said. "There was no ambiguity in the jury's decision."

"We are clearly disappointed with the verdict," Seven general counsel and vice president of corporate affairs Harvey Anderson said. "We believe minor alterations of the software will avoid the claims in the future, with no disruption to our customers or the user experience."

Seven pointed out that originally Visto had asserted nearly 200 claims on six patents and $12 million in damages, and in the final verdict only five claims on three patents had withstood scrutiny. Additionally, the company has been successful in getting one of Visto's patents rejected by the USPTO.

The same patents plus another are what RIM is being sued over, along with a demand for injunction and unspecified monetary damages. RIM had not publicly responded to the charges as of Monday afternoon.

"RIM must understand that there is no place in the mobile email space for this sort of behavior," continued Bogosian. "Under the law, which protects consumers from products that contain infringing technology, RIM should not be able to sell the BlackBerry system."

Visto would be the second company to attempt to shut BlackBerry down after patent holding company NTP. RIM settled with NTP for $612.5 million in March.

According to company representatives, Visto's patents cover a different portion of wireless e-mail, including remote synchronization and other aspects of the technology. Visto described NTP's patents as the "wheels," while Visto created the "engine."

Visto has been quite litigious as of late. The company sued Microsoft in December, alleging that Windows Mobile 5.0 is a "blatant infringement" on its technology. Then in January, Visto sued Good Technology, saying it infringed on four patents granted between 1999 and 2004. The patents involve the sending of data wirelessly over a network.

"We have invested tens of millions in capital from loyal and patient investors to bring our products from invention to market," said Visto co-founder and vice president Daniel Mendez. "But we are still a small company, and we can only succeed and innovate if large companies are kept from violating the laws that protect inventors and innovators,"