Apple, AT&T sued for $360M over Visual Voicema->
Submitted
by
LwPhD
LwPhD writes "Reuters and CNN are reporting that Klausner Technologies is suing Apple and AT&T in the U.S. District Court in Marshall, TX, a fertile hunting ground for patent trolls. At issue is patent number 5,572,576 which describes linking contact information with voice messages. Klausner, even though it frequently targets obvious applications and makes no pretense to developing any technology itself, has sued successfully before, most notably winning a recent settlement from Vonage.
Moreover, Klausner is also suing other companies for the same obvious feature. According to Reuters:
How long will such patently preposterous patent suits be allowed merely because a feature that seems obvious to technology developers may not seem obvious to judges and juries? I remember that my first college computer (a crummy low-end Packard Bell manufactured in 1995) came with answering machine software installed by default. Is there no example of prior art for using Caller ID, a modem, and a computer to tag messages before Klausner's filing date of 1994?"
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Moreover, Klausner is also suing other companies for the same obvious feature. According to Reuters:
The company alleged in its statement that Cablevision's Optimum Voicemail, Comcast's Digital Voice Voicemail and eBay's Skype Voicemail violate Klausner's patent by allowing users to selectively retrieve and listen to voice messages via message inbox displays.
How long will such patently preposterous patent suits be allowed merely because a feature that seems obvious to technology developers may not seem obvious to judges and juries? I remember that my first college computer (a crummy low-end Packard Bell manufactured in 1995) came with answering machine software installed by default. Is there no example of prior art for using Caller ID, a modem, and a computer to tag messages before Klausner's filing date of 1994?"
Link to Original Source
