REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.-The wave of litigation in the mobile e-mail space continued as Visto Corp. filed a patent-infringement suit against Microsoft Corp.
Visto claims the software giant violated three patents relating to synchronizing and managing data between servers and handheld mobile devices. The move came just hours after Visto struck a licensing deal with NTP Inc., which is embroiled in a high-profile legal scrap with BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd.
“Microsoft has a long and well-documented history of acquiring the technology of others, branding it as their own, and entering new markets,” said Brian Bogosian, Visto’s chief executive officer. “For their foray into mobile e-mail and data access, Microsoft simply decided to misappropriate Visto’s well-known and documented patented technology.”
“Until we have an opportunity to review this complaint and investigate Visto’s allegations, we’re not in a position to comment specifically on them,” Microsoft said in a statement. “In the meantime, however, we wish to underscore that Microsoft stands behind its products and respects the intellectual property rights of others.”
Visto has licensed its technology for white-label e-mail services to carriers including Vodafone Group plc and Sprint Nextel Corp., and may have the resources for a protracted court battle. The start-up closed a $70 million round of financing in November, and has raised more than $200 million since its founding nine years ago.
Neither company is a stranger to litigation. Microsoft has shelled out more than $1 billion over the last three years to settle patent-infringement disputes, while Visto is engaged in lawsuits with competitor Seven and its subsidiary Smartner.
Visto is seeking unspecified damages as well as an injunction against the sale of the products in question.
