Decision
confirms value of Alcatel’s patent portfolio in 3G
19th June 2002
Alcatel
scored an important victory before the Board of Appeals of the European
Patent Office [Decision number T 0054/01] in respect of the European
patent EP 297616. The patent EP 297616 relates to and has a broad applicability
to, amongst other things, multimode GSM and CDMA handset terminals,
ie handsets capable of accessing more than one type of network.
The
patent was filed back in 1988 covering most European countries. In view
of the early date of this invention, it is not limited to particular
types of network. It does however have particular applicability to next
generation 3G and 2.5G handsets having back compatibility to access
GSM networks.
It
has been under opposition since its grant in 1993 from Bosch who had
sought the complete revocation and annulation of the patent, on the
grounds that the invention was obvious at the date of filing of the
patent.
The
patent survived a first decision of the Opposition Division of the European
Patent Office in October 2000. This decision was appealed by Bosch who
continued to demand the revocation of the patent. The appeal has now
been thrown out on all its points and the patent maintained. No further
appeal is now possible.
Given
the importance of patents and intellectual property rights in general
in the field of 3G handset terminals, and the broad scope of this patent,
the present victory has considerable consequence in confirming the value
of the patent portfolio of Alcatel in this field.
Today,
Alcatel has a patent portfolio comprising over 23.000 patents and applications
filed worldwide. Alcatel also has an established and successful active
licensing policy, which was put in place four years ago as part of a
drive to maximise the value of its considerable IPR assets.
mmO2
has struck another first in the development of higher speed mobile data
services in Europe with publication today of trial prices for its third
generation (3G) service on the Isle of Man.
The
patent EP 297616 relates to and has a broad applicability to, amongst
other things, multimode GSM and CDMA handset terminals, ie handsets capable
of accessing more than one type of network.
MoreMagic
was awarded the Best New Product of the Billing World 2002 Excellence
Awards last night. This esteemed award recognizes the success of those
companies leading the way in the payment industry.
Cyneta
Networks and Idetic Inc. announced their collaboration to provide the
industry's first truly intelligent acceleration solution for 2.5/3G mobile
data.
Sony
Ericsson today unveiled the T300 mobile phone, which offers entertaining
multimedia applications like imaging, messaging and gaming, and is priced
for the mass market.
DevX
announced the launch of an information portal to assist wireless developers
in creating mobile applications for QUALCOMM's Binary Runtime Environment
for Wireless(TM) (BREW) platform
3G
is fast becoming a reality globally. Recent 3G deployments in the United
States, Canada, Latin America and Eastern Europe are providing users with
leading-edge devices
The
telecom industry's future depends on selling more gear, subscriptions,
and network services -- but visible mobile only has a set number of humans
to sell to
