Hands off: Palm and Handspring hit with patent suit

Cash register manufacturer NCR has pulled a fifteen-year-old patent out of the bag and is preparing to sue Palm and Handspring.

By Kate Hanaghan, 16 March 2001 12:11

NEWS Reports on Reuters claim the handheld makers have infringed two patents for a credit card sized "portable personal terminal" which would have the capacity to sync with other systems. The handheld industry is big business and NCR is making serious demands of two of the sector's major players - asking for compensation and requesting that Palm and Handspring be prevented from making any more of products that conflict with its patent. It is not yet clear whether NCR will be widening its legal actions to include other handheld manufacturers. As of close yesterday, shares in Palm were down 6.5 per cent and Handspring was down 1.3 per cent - well off their all time highs.

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