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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