Visual voicemail inventor sues Verizon, Sprint, Google and others
Klausner Technologies, the so-called inventor and patent-holder for visual voicemail, has launched yet another patent-infringement lawsuit aimed at any and all companies using the technology behind visual voicemail. Since successful settlements with Apple and AT&T over a similar matter, the inventor has now set its sights on the likes of Google, Verizon, LG, Comverse, Citrix, and Embarq.
The inventor behind Klausner Technologies, Judah Klausner, began receiving patents as far back as 1992 that tied into his visual voicemail technology- what he called “applying a graphical way of interacting with voicemail messages that allow it to be used like e-mail.” In June, Apple- which popularized “visual voicemail” in the first place through its iPhone, together with AT&T and eBay- the owner of Skype, settled a patent suit filed last December by Klausner, according to Reuters. I guess Klausner figured they should go after everyone since the judge seems to side with him in regards to his patents.
Verizon and LG together launched the Voyager- which was the first device offered by Verizon to offer visual voicemail, and is why Klausner is going after not only Verizon, but LG as well. Anticipating the attack, Verizon took a proactive approach and filed its own lawsuit against Klausner that seeks to have a federal judge declare the inventor’s visual voicemail patent invalid. “We anticipated Klausner’s action,” Verizon spokesman Jim Smith said in a statement. “We are seeking a declaration that Klausner’s visual voicemail patent is invalid and that Verizon’s system does not infringe the patent in any event.”
Klausner seems to have no problems filing lawsuits against tech companies, as its been doing so since its first patents were filed in the 1970s. Last December alone, Klausner sued seven companies for what he said in a news release was $360 million in damages and royalties for “violating patents on technology that sends visual alerts to computers or mobile telephones when a user has a voice message and allows users to selectively retrieve messages.”
Seems to me like instead of inventing any new and upcoming technology, Klausner is more interested in going the easy route and earning millions of dollars filing lawsuits left and right and then subsequently settling for large sums. On the other hand, if Klausner is simply trying to protect his precious research and developments he’s worked decades to achieve, it’s a totally different story.
Related Posts:
