Press Room
US Federal Court Remands Xerox Infringement Suit to District Court for Determination of Validity
February 21, 2003 -- Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) today announced
that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
affirmed a decision by the District Court of the Western District
of New York that Palm infringed a Xerox Corp. patent. But
the Court of Appeals also remanded the case back to the District
Court to examine the validity of the patent in question.
Xerox filed the suit in April 1997 alleging that Palm's
Graffiti(R) handwriting recognition software infringed a Xerox
United States patent relating to computerised recognition
of handwriting.
In remanding the case to the District Court, the Court of
Appeals yesterday asked the lower court to conduct a complete
validity analysis of Xerox's patent in question. While
the Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's conclusion
that Palm infringes the claims of the patent, it noted that
the infringement was based on a broad construction of the
patent, which "has implications for the issue of validity."
The Court of Appeals stated in its opinion that Palm "has
made strong arguments that the asserted claims, as construed,
are invalid . . ."
"We are delighted that the Court of Appeals has overturned
the summary judgment with respect to the validity of the patent,"
said Eric Benhamou, Palm chairman and chief executive officer.
"This ruling recognises the strength of Palm's
arguments with respect to the fundamental question of validity."
About Palm, Inc.
With shipment of more than 20 million Palm handheld computers,
many carried in pockets, purses and briefcases around the
world, Palm delivers devices that make it easy for people
to use and keep track of what matters to them.
Information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palmone.com/aboutpalm.
Palm OS is a registered trademark of PalmSource, Inc., a subsidiary
of Palm, Inc. Other brands may be trademarks of their respective
owners.
