A New York based patent enforcement entity, Copy Tele, has filed a patent lawsuit against Microsoft, alleging the company infringes on two patents with its Skype IP calling and messaging service. Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chats over the internet.
According to Copy Tele’s lawsuit, the two patents are a “Method and apparatus for securing e-mail attachments” and “Portable telecommunication security device”. These two patents in question come from Secure Web Conference Corporation, which is a subsidiary of Copy Tele, and were issued in 2005.
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Robert Berman, CEO of Copy Tele, told TechCrunch, “This is a $4billion industry. This (lawsuit) is the initiation of what will be a broader patent enforcement campaign.” Berman also added that “there are between 90 and 100 web conferencing companies that Copy Tele believes are also violating the same patents.”
Copy Tele considers itself a “specialist in patent monetization and patent assertion”. However many companies consider the company a “patent troll” and say it deals in “patent privateering”, which means Copy Tele makes deals with larger companies to take over their portfolios and bring cases against competitors.
Berman disagrees with this view, saying he is more like a patent enforcement crusader. “I think every patent case needs to be judged on their own merits. We are not in the nuisance lawsuit business, particularly when large companies make money out of licensing.”
Proposed legislation may change how patent case are brought to court as one politician, Senator Charles Schumer, is suggesting that each patent suit should be reviewed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office before it can proceed through the court system to determine whether or not they have any merit on patent grounds. This should, according to Schumer, weed out illegitimate claims while allowing genuine violations to proceed along the costly route to either court or settlement.
Microsoft responded with a “no comment” to the patent infringement lawsuit by Copy Tele.