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| Wednesday, June 28, 2006 |
Palm to Pay Xerox $22.5M to Settle 1997 Patent Lawsuit
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Handheld computer maker Palm Inc. said Wednesday it would pay $22.5 million to Xerox Corp. to settle a patent infringement suit filed in 1997.
The dispute stems from a suit Xerox filed against a predecessor company to Palm Inc., charging that the handwriting-recognition technology sold as "Graffiti" and formerly used in some Palm devices infringed on a Xerox patent for a system known as Unistrokes. Palm replaced Graffiti with an updated system called Graffiti 2 in 2003.
The $22.5 million payment covers a fully paid-up license for three Xerox patents, including Unistrokes, Palm said. The two sides also agreed to "patent peace," or a seven-year mutual covenant not to sue within mutually agreed fields of use.
Palm said it would account for the license as a charge against earnings in its fiscal fourth quarter results.
Xerox said net proceeds of the payment would be mostly offset by costs related to the settlement of other legal matters.
Xerox shares rose 25 cents, or 1.9 percent, to close at $13.54 on the New York Stock Exchange. Palm rose 35 cents, or 1.9 percent, to finish at $18.67 on the Nasdaq. |
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