HTC, Nokia, RIM & Palm accused of cellphone patent violations

HTC, RIM, Palm, Nokia and Panasonic are among multiple cellphone manufacturers against whom a Texas company, Saxon Innovations, have filed complaints regarding alleged patent violations. The case, which the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided to investigate following a vote on Thursday, suggests that various products from the companies use intellectual property first filed in three patents by AMD, and which was subsequently bought by Saxon in July 2007. If the ITC finds in favor of the complaint, the manufacturers could be barred from importing their devices.
The three patents, all granted in the 1990s, include a method of monitoring a keypad with activity-based activation, an apparatus and method for disabling interrupt marks in processors or the like, and a device and method for interprocessor communication by using mailboxes owned by processor devices. Specifically cited devices include the Nokia N73, which Saxon claim violates two of the three patents, the Nokia N95, which violates the third, together with the BlackBerry 8100 Pearl, violating two of the patents, and the Palm Treo 700p, which also violates two patents.
None of the companies involved have publicly commented on the case. The ITC will now hold a hearing on the complaint, with an investigation completion date usually established within the next 45 days.