Forgent sues over use of the JPEG file format. Now what?

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

Forgent Networks has today made good their 2002 claim to JPEG and their intention to pursue licensing revenue from companies who use it. They own United States patent 4,698,672 which covers the JPEG compression standard, this patent was created by Compression Labs who Forgent bought back in 1997. Over the last two years, Forgent's has generated $90 million from licensing the patent to 30 different companies. The camera companies include Canon, Kodak, Fuji, Kyocera, HP, Panasonic, Ricoh, Toshiba, Concord and software suppliers Adobe, Macromedia, JASC.

<http://www.dpreview.com/news/0404/04042302forgentjpeglawsuits.asp>

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

The defendants are:

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE), Agfa Corporation, Apple Computer
Incorporated (Nasdaq:AAPL), Axis Communications Incorporated, Canon USA,
Concord Camera Corporation (Nasdaq:LENS), Creative Labs Incorporated,
Dell Incorporated (Nasdaq:DELL), Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK), Fuji
Photo Film Co U.S.A, Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Gateway Inc.
(NYSE:GTW), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), International Business
Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), JASC Software, JVC Americas Corporation, Kyocera
Wireless Corporation, Macromedia Inc. (Nasdaq:MACR), Matsushita Electric
Corporation of America, Oce' North America Incorporated, Onkyo Corporation,
PalmOne Inc. (Nasdaq:PLMO), Panasonic Communications Corporation of America,
Panasonic Mobile Communications Development Corporation of USA, Ricoh
Corporation, Riverdeep Incorporated (d.b.a. Broderbund), Savin Corporation,
Thomson S.A. (NYSE:TMS), Toshiba Corporation and Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX).




If the plaintiff does not prevail, I hate to think what their legal costs are going to mean to the ultimate survival of their company. It's not cheap to litigate against thirty-one defendants of this caliber.

[Phosphor@adobeforums.com]

It'll get tossed.

Tossers with ill-contrived, poorly time-leveraged frivolous lawsuits usually do.

What, were Forgent's lawyers sleeping in a freakin' cave for the last 6 years?

Quankers.

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

Not sleeping, Phosphor, trying to reach a settlement --according to the plaintiffs. Not a bad premise for a subsequent successful litigation.

They must have considered their options before undertaking this enormous gamble. As I said, if they loose, their very existence is at risk.

[Phosphor@adobeforums.com]

But, WHAT IN THE **** TOOK THEM SO LONG TO FILE SUIT?

That's the part that confounds me.

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

Phosphor,

I'm always amused by folks who think you can just walk into a US District Court and file a suit. That is not only not feasible, it would be just about the dumbest thing anyone could do.

In the first place, you have to make a showing that you have exhausted all other avenues. Secondly, negotiations can go on for years before they break down.

A different matter would be if they had not asserted a claim at all and had not tried to enforce their perceived rights before.

There's nothing unusual about this. I observe literally hundreds of cases from the side lines per year, perhaps over one thousand. Two years to bring a lawsuit to fruition is nothing.

[Graham_Phillips@adobeforums.com]

Notice that Sony isn't in the list. They settled a while back, taking some flak for doing so.

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

That's right, Graham. Neither are Pentax and, wonder of wonders, Microsoft.

[Wade_Zimmerman@adobeforums.com]

I think they will win I suggest that Adobe reconsider and settle.

[John_Slate@adobeforums.com]

Apparently this is not being taken too seriously by the financial community.

The Forgent stock price surged to $1.86 (from $1.63) the Monday after that article was published, then waned and is now $1.56.

For historical pespective, the stock cost $11 back in 1995.

Some might view this recent action as a desperation move.

[Ann_Shelbourne@adobeforums.com]

A desperate move … for too much … too late?

[Welles_Goodrich@adobeforums.com]

Its akin to Apple Corps. vs Apple Comp. methinks. A group of uncreative, unproductive people try to shake down someone else.