Creative may take action against mobile phone makers over Zen
patent
Creative Technology may take legal action against some mobile phone
makers which have allegedly infringed its patented Zen
technology.
This comes barely a week after Apple settled out of court its
differences with Creative over the same patent.
The Zen patent, which was granted by the US Patent Office last
August, is essentially a user interface for the management of songs
stored in MP3 players.
Now the Singapore multi-media company says it is looking at mobile
phone makers who are said to be also using its patented
technology.
These companies could possibly include major mobile phone
manufacturers like Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, who all
produce phones with MP3 player functions.
However patent experts say taking legal action may not be an easy
task.
Jonathan Kok, Patent Lawyer and Partner, Harry Elias Partnership,
said: "If Creative has not filed a patent application or obtained
registration in certain (countries) where these MP3 manufacturers
are, like those in Taiwan, and if they're not filed in Taiwan, then
definitely they cannot go after these manufacturers in Taiwan. But
what they can do then is to stop the import of these media devices
into the US where Creative has a patent registration."
And that would really be a deterrent to these manufacturers because
US being a big market and come the Christmas season, they're
expecting to boost the sales of all these digital media
devices.
While Creative says there are also many other MP3 player makers
infringing its patent, it refused to comment if it's considering
taking action against them.
Analysts I spoke to earlier say an amicable solution would be the
best option for Creative.
Claudio Checchia, Research Manager (Consumer Markets Programme),
IDC Asia Pacific, said: "I think it has been acknowledged that
Creative was there first, so they won the patent - so their rights
have been recognised. So at that level it's a victory for Creative.
If they are going to go after other manufacturers, it really
depends on what they goal is, and the problem with these lawsuits
is that they can be quite expensive."
For Q4 ended June 30th, Creative reported a lost of $12.7 million,
but with its recent settlement with Apple, it expects to return to
the black by year-end. - CNA/ch
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