Court revives Xerox's battle with Palm over handwriting recognition

The US Court of Appeals has reopened a patent infringement lawsuit by Xerox against Palm over handwriting recognition on handheld computers.

The litigation will now return to the court in Rochester, New York, which dismissed the case in June, 2000.

Xerox alleges that Palm's Graffiti software infringes a patent it registered for its Unistroke handwriting recognition technology.

"It's a huge victory for Xerox," says company spokesman Bill McKee. "The US Court of Appeals agrees there is enough evidence to proceed in a litigation that there is a patent infringement."

Palm acknowledges the reversal, but emphasises that Xerox's request for a summary judgment in its favour has been declined.

Carl Yankowski, Palm's chief executive, says the firm is ready to "vigorously defend itself" in court.

He says: "Palm continues to believe that the Graffiti software does not infringe the patent, and that Palm has other defences supporting its stance."

Xerox first went to court in April, 1997, four months after receiving a patent for handwriting recognition for its Unistroke technology.

The system allows users to enter letters and numbers into handheld computers as simple handwritten strokes.

If successful, Xerox could force Palm and others to pay a licence fee for each device sold.