In the lawsuit, NCR claimed that it had 20 years ago designed "a
revolutionary new device and system for handling and transmitting
data" small enough to fit in the user's hand. NCR, formerly known
as National Cash Register, alleged that its design incorporated
many of the same tools found in the popular Palm and Handspring
PDAs.
The lawsuit also claimed that Palm and Handspring knew of the
NCR patent but decided not to seek licences. NRC notified
Handspring of its claim of infringement in March 2000, but never
contacted Palm on the matter to seek resolution before filing suit
in the US District Court in Delaware.
The case was dismissed in July last year. At the time, the
federal Judge said that NCR's patents did not apply to either
Palm's or Handspring's products or technology.
On Thursday, Judge Kent Jordan upheld that ruling, and dismissed
the case against Palm and Handspring. Brad Hulbert, one of the
lawyers acting for Palm told Reuters that the verdict "affirms
Palm's policy of litigating rather than paying a patent royalty
when the patent is not infringed".
Palm is negotiating to purchase Handspring, and the deal is
expected to complete this autumn.
