NTP files lawsuit against Apple, Microsoft and others

The NTP case is being heard in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

Wireless email firm NTP Technologies has filed lawsuits against Google, HTC, LG, Apple, Motorola and Microsoft alleging eight separate patent infringements.

The lawsuits, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, all involve wireless email technology in software applications or wireless handheld devices.

Donald Stout, NTP's co-founder, said that using NTP's intellectual property without a licence "is just plain unfair to NTP and its licensees".

"Unfortunately, litigation is our only means of ensuring that the inventor of the fundamental technology on which wireless email is based, [NTP co-founder] Tom Campana, and NTP shareholders are recognised and fairly and reasonably compensated for their innovative work and investment," he said.

"We took the necessary action to protect our intellectual property."

This is not the first time NTP has been involved in patent disputes. In the mid-2000s the company eventually won a long running dispute with BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM).

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) re-examined NTP's patents after the case, but its Board of Patent Appeals ruled that 67 of the firm's claims in four patents are valid, including three that RIM was found to have infringed, according to NTP.

The patent claims which the USPTO has rejected are currently on appeal at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

"The filing of suit today is necessary to ensure that those companies who are infringing NTP's patents will be required to pay a licensing fee," Stout said.

"In view of the USPTO Board's ruling, the debate over whether Mr Campana was an originator in the field of wireless email is over."