Google, LG settle visual voicemail patent suits with Klausner
By Nilay Patel 
posted Mar 11th 2009 11:29AM
posted Mar 11th 2009 11:29AM
As expected, Google and LG have joined Apple, AT&T, and Verizon in settling their visual voicemail patent lawsuits with Klausner Technologies. The LG agreement is the more straightforward of the two, since it covers LG devices like the Versa directly, but things get more complicated with Google since it doesn't actually make its own phones -- Klausner wouldn't say if the agreement shielded Android licensees from patent claims. We're hoping Google's attorneys got it all sorted out, but we'll see who else is next on Klausner's naughty list.Read - Google
Read - LG
Google also owns Grand Central, which uses a visual voicemail-esque interface online...probably also related to that.
Answer me this, before jan 5 of 2007, which cell had visual voicemail,,??? Exactly none. So apple should be suing like a muth!!!!! They would have this case in the bag.
I suggest you read the article again, focusing on the first sentence.....
Shank is right, Visual Voicemail was started by Apple and AT&T, and Verizon came along later..
Visual Voicemail has been offered by 3rd parties since long before the iPhone integrated it. That was the first phone with it integrated but it wasn't a new idea.
you are right, there were 3rd parties that offered it, but Apple and AT&T were the first to integrate it, However, I was right that Verizon came later... ;)
Some of you should do what 'coolblue' suggested, that is READ the first sentence again. If you're having a hard time understanding it, here is a link which "should", help you understand that Klausner patented VVM many-many years ago. http://www.appletell.com/apple/comment/apple-settles-kalusner-suit/
@Engadgetier, Shank: Wow. Reading comprehension FTW, boys.
It disgusts me that a no name idiot can file a patent, never make a product, and then sue anyone who tries to make anything that is remotely similar to that patent. What the hell does Klausner Technologies do, besides sue people?
That's it, I had a patent on bitching. You are getting sued.
I was hoping to look up their website and say that they do other stuff, but um.... if you go to http://www.klausnertechnologies.com/ then the only place you can go from there is http://www.klausnertechnologies.com/the_visual_voicemail_patents.html so uh... yeah.
I bet if Apple was the one who held this patent and wanted to sue other companies you'd be extremely happy. And who says they didn't make any products? All they didn't do was integrate it with any of their own phones, for all you know lots of other companies may have been using the VVM software on their phones.
@Ellianth - WHY would you bet that if Apple was the one who held this patent and wanted to sue other companies then Mikee would be extremely happy?
Mikee never mentioned Apple, and did not imply anything about any other company. There was nothing in Mikee's comment that even remotely suggested he was being pro-Apple or would have a different stance should the fruit company be the one with the patent.
You know your anti-Apple trolling has got out of hand if you see "Apple" written in to comments when it is not there.
Everything is patented now, Did you patent yourself?
I'm confused, android doesn't have visual voicemail unless you download a 3rd party app for it... So is google being sued just in case they decide to add it?
If you go to www.klausnertechnologies.com , all that's there is information on the visual voicemail patent...like some bozo somewhere figured that someday, somewhere, someone would decide to invent this, and threw out a vague patent as ammo for a slew of frivolous lawsuits. Gawd I love the legal system these days...
How does prior art affect use of a patented idea. I wrote and used a visual voice mail, software app on a PC with a card that allowed calls to be recorded to disk.In the early 80's I wrote a program to list the call history, allow the user to chose which calls to listen to [or not], which order and which to return. I then took the same idea and used it years later to do the same thing on my employers ASPECT ACD. The same software tools were written to control the voice mail from the Aspect desk phone, or via a application running on anyone's workstation of choice [SUN, IBM, HP]. So can I take my software and market it without payments to the patent holder, by proving prior art? (I know most of you are not patent lawyers, but still may have an idea of how the system works)
prior art if it can be proven (and is applicable, etc.) will render the patent invalid (and probably in this case render the settlements null)
you can't invent something that's already been invented.
you should approach apple and tell them you have this prior art. they'll probably buy your "company" to get their money back from the settlement then.
I would like to use my prior art to my gain, but it may not be so easy. The underlying IP may belong to my former employer [which is one of the top two wireless and wire line voice and data service providers] . Even though I had a fully functional "Video Voice mail" working on my personal home hardware and software [developed on my own time at home], later bringing the functionality to an enterprise environment, on enterprise level hardware. The problem is at some point I signed a document that said any software I developed belonged my then employer. I do not know if that would hold up. BTW my former employer may to need to be paying license fees after all. Maybe I should contact them.
That last line should have read that my former employer may NOT need to be paying license fees after all.
I do have enough documentation, working SW/HW to how that I had a production product back in the early 80's. Including the enterprise software which I worked on at home.
That last line should have read that my former employer may NOT need to be paying license fees after all.
I do have enough documentation, working SW/HW to show that I had a production product back in the early 80's. Including the enterprise software which I worked on at home.
If you are serious, my brother is a Patent Attorney... I'm sure you could e-mail him/the firm he works for with your question (or any firm for that matter).
If it has merit, you could move forward.
What's your e-mail?
I don't even care about visual vmail. I suspect most people don't either. this is all a waste of time/money
I don't even care about voicemail.
I don't even dare without blackmail.
Looks like grandcentral should be coming back hopefully it will stay free and they make some major updates to it