Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Apr. 4--JURY AWARDS $12 MILLION IN VOICE-MAIL HANG-UP:

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2003 19:49:58 -0400

Chicago Tribune Download Column
Source: Chicago Tribune
Publication date: 2003-04-04

Apr. 4--JURY AWARDS $12 MILLION IN VOICE-MAIL HANG-UP: A
Chicago jury this week sent a clear message to one of the nation's largest
manufacturers of voice mail systems when it awarded a Park Ridge man
$12 million for patent infringement.

Philip Jackson was finishing his senior year at the Illinois Institute of
Technology when he came up with an idea that now allows millions of
people to check their voice mail remotely. Jackson's invention won him a
patent in 1986 on a remote-control system recognizing a phone's touch-tone
sounds as security codes that give users access to their messages from
the road.

Seven court cases and millions of dollars in legal bills later, Jackson has
successfully wrangled licensing fees from almost 20 companies, including
Lucent, Panasonic, Sony and Sanyo. Hundreds more likely will get away
with infringing on his patent because Jackson said he doesn't have enough
time or legal help to chase them down.

"Even the big companies that are respectful of patents take months and
months to come to the conclusion that they should negotiate with you,"
Jackson said. "But most think that just because you're a small inventor they
can throw a lot of litigation at you to get you to go away. A lot of time
they're
right, which is why they'd rather spend their money on legal costs than their
own research and development."

Glenayre Electronics Inc. of Duluth, Ga., apparently falls into that second
camp. When Jackson sent the company a letter in 2001 asking for
payment, Glenayre responded by filing suit against him.

President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Doggett later told jurors
Jackson's claim amounted to "a tax in business today."

Jackson's attorney, Raymond P. Niro of Niro, Scavone, Haller & Niro, a
Chicago firm that routinely takes intellectual property cases on contingency,
convinced jurors otherwise.

"Thomas Edison wasn't taxing the public when he invented the light bulb,"
Niro said after the verdict was announced. "The government doesn't award
patents as a tax. They award patents as a way of thanking an inventor for
his or her contribution to society."

In this case, Jackson probably didn't get nearly as much thanks as he
deserves. Many of Glenayre's customers, including Nextel, U.S. Cellular
and Verizon, offer voice mail services running on systems similar to the one
Jackson has patented. According to court testimony, about 50 million
consumers use Glenayre technology. If the average charge for voice mail
services is $5 a month, Niro estimates companies are making at least $250
million a month off of Jackson's invention.

Jackson collected only a fraction of that amount because Federal District
Court Judge Harry D. Leinenweber ruled that he was entitled to payment
only from the point at which he notified Glenayre of patent infringement.

That Jackson waited more than a decade to speak up underscores the often
impossible legal battles inventors face.

"A company that is trying to defend itself against infringement will spend
$100,000 arguing the meaning of one word if it can," Jackson said. "You've
got to be prepared for that, and if you say something before then, you could
get sidetracked by legal technicalities you wouldn't believe."

Despite the extended litigation, Jackson said he's not bitter.

"Innovation is still a key ingredient to making America successful," he said.
"Enforcing the patent system is crucial."

More online: For a look at the court battles inventors face, visit
chicagotribune.com/ip.

BITS AND BYTES: The U.S. Supreme Court is becoming more media
savvy.

Justices immediately released audio of oral arguments in Grutter v. Bollinger
and Gratz v. Bollinger, highly controversial affirmative action cases out of the

University of Michigan. Excerpts were widely played this week by radio
stations across the country.

The Society of Professional Journalists praised the court for "helping
Americans to better understand the issues before the court -- and the
court's eventual decision." Can PDA updates from the court be far behind?

... CHICAGO WEB HOSTING COMPANY HOSTWAY is hosting the next
First Tuesday shindig, coming up from 6 to 9 p.m., April 8 at Harry's Velvet
Room, 56 W. Illinois St. Guest speaker Mohan Sawhney, a professor
specializing in technology and e-commerce at Northwestern University's
Kellogg School of Management will discuss ways that small and midsize
businesses still can take advantage of the Internet.

-----

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