Apple settles Visual Voicemail lawsuit

Klausner Technology Inc., owner of a telephone answering machine patent "linking displayed data with [a] recorded audio message" settled with Apple over the use of Visual Voicemail on the iPhone, reports Macworld.

Klausner was granted the patent in 1994, and renewed it in March. As part of the settlement, Klausner is licensing the patents to Apple and AT&T. Klausner has already licensed it to Vonage, Sprint Nextel, and eBay.

The details of the settlement were not released, but Klausner had been asking for $360 million in damages.

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Source: http://www.macworld.com/article/134011/2008/06/klausner.html

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Klausner Technology Inc., owner of a telephone answering machine patent "linking displayed data with [a] recorded audio message" settled...

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Jon

These broad but vague valueless software patents do nothing but weaken the US tech market. That is why other countries are taking over. A large bulk of of our research and innovation ends up going to crafty lawyers, patent trolls who do nothing to contribute to society or technology. They only feed off of it.

June 18 2008 at 4:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

saycheese

To all the iSuckups here.. grow a spine, will ya?

Would you still shout "Patents suck!" when someone rips off Apple's patents? Don't think so.

What do you iSuckups feel about Apple's patent for the "Trash Can" icon? Read about the absurdity here..
http://www.macobserver.com/editorial/2003/03/04.2.shtml

June 18 2008 at 11:53 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to saycheese's comment

Max Howell

Any of us could become patent trolls. It is a career choice for the pathetic, the untalented and the immorally greedy. Sadly I think it's clear, some of us are all of those things.

Fortunately society seems to continue to reward people who use patents in a manner that benefits us all. And yes saycheese, I'm afraid its true, Apple do use them in a generally benign manner.

June 23 2008 at 11:52 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Vinod

The patent concerned must have been very strong. Otherwise the Apple and AT&T would not have settled this so quickly.

June 18 2008 at 6:02 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Fritz Laurel

Not to mention that patents do nothing but stifle innovation and competition. The whole patent part of our society is just bad and needs to be dismantled post haste!

June 18 2008 at 4:55 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Virtuous

Patent trolls must cost consumers hundreds of millions or billions of dollars annually.

June 18 2008 at 12:44 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

eric f

Uh, yeah, steve... go play with your Zune.

June 17 2008 at 8:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

nka

@Hawkman: Straight up, this game that patent holders play is disgusting!

June 17 2008 at 6:43 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Hawkman

Ugh, patent hoarders. When I rule the world, you won't get patents granted without a working implementation.