Klausner Sues Apple, AT&T for Patent Infringement

The patent-holding firm Klausner Technologies, owned by PDA inventor Judah Klausner, is suing Apple (AAPL) and AT&T (T) for $360 million for infringing its visual voicemail patents. The suit is expected to carry some weight, because Klausner successfully sued AOL and Vonage (VG) over the same patents. Klausner is seeking another $300 million in damages and future royalties from Comcast (CMCSA), Cablevision (CVC) and eBay's Skype (EBAY). All the defendants are alleged to have violated Klausner's intellectual property rights by allowing users to retrieve voicemail via a displayed menu. "We have litigated this patent successfully on two prior occasions," said Klausner's counsel, Greg Dovel. "With the signing of each new licensee, we continue to receive further confirmation of the strength of our visual voicemail patents." Neither Apple nor AT&T has commented on the pending litigation.

Sources: Thomson Financial, Reuters, AppleInsider, zdNet, Gizmodo

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