Snubbed Nuance takes Zi to court

Nuance Communications Inc. played the litigation card in its latest attempt to swallow Zi Corp.
A giant on the speech-recognition playground, Nuance two weeks ago was rebuffed by Zi after offering an unsolicited $40 million bid for the Canadian software developer. While the offer marked a 150% premium over Zi’s previous closing share price, Zi executives said the proposal “does not recognize the full value” of the developer.
Now, Burlington, Mass.-based Nuance claims Zi has infringed on two Canadian patents, violating a 2002 ruling that settled patent litigation between Zi and Tegic Communications Inc., which was subsequently acquired by Nuance.
“This motion for contempt is without merit,” Zi President Milos Kjokovic responded in a prepared statement. “Providing this notice is clearly a tactic employed by Nuance in light of its failed proposal to acquire Zi last week at a low valuation. The timing of this motion is highly suspicious and is an unnecessary legal tactic by Nuance.”
A behemoth that has compiled more than $1 billion in acquisitions over the past two years, Nuance is nearly as comfortable in the courtroom as it is at the negotiating table. Nuance earlier this year filed suit against Vlingo, a newcomer that has already notched a high-profile deal with Yahoo Inc.; targets of other Nuance suits include SoftMed Systems, TellMe Networks (which was later picked by Microsoft Corp. in a deal rumored to be worth $1 billion) and VoiceSignal Technologies, which Nuance eventually acquired.