Portfolio Media, Inc. | 648 Broadway, Suite 200 | New York, NY 10012 Phone: +1 212 537 6331 | Fax: +1 212 537 6371 | www.law360.com E-mail:customerservice@portfoliomedia.com Suit Targets Biggest Players In Cell Phone Industry By Elaine Chow, elaine.chow@portfoliomedia.com Thursday, June 07, 2007 --- In a suit that could affect every cell phone released over the last few years, a patent-holding company accused all the big players in the cellular industry on Wednesday of infringing on its patent for a “mobile entertainment and communication device.” Minerva Industries Inc. filed two separate suits, both in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against a plethora of defendants, including phone manufacturers such as the Samsung Group, Nokia Inc., Sony Ericsson Communications Inc. and Research In Motion Corp., and cellular networks like T-Mobile USA and Helio Inc. Both suits allege that the companies all directly infringe and indirectly infringe on a patent for “a mobile entertainment and communication device in a palm-held size housing” by making, using, offering to sell or selling such devices. Specifically, the patent covers “a cellular or satellite telephone capable of wireless communication with the Internet and one or more replaceable memory card sockets for receiving a blank memory card for recording data directly from the Internet, and in particular, musical performances that then can be selectively reproduced by the device for the enjoyment of the user.” The patent also describes other functions the device could have, including games, radio, GPS with images, an emergency call function, low ambient light, voice control, a USB cable, audio recorder and an audible alarm, among other operations. The description means that almost all new phones with any type of multimedia capabilities infringe on Minerva's patents. Minerva has asked the court to find that the various defendants have infringed on its multimedia device patent, to enter a permanent injunction enjoining the defendants from infringing, and to force the defendants to pay Minerva damages, costs, expenses and prejudgment and postjudgment interest for the infringement. Minerva has spent over nine years and almost $1 million enforcing its multimedia cell phone patent, according to the company's Web site. CEO John Ki Kim said in a message in 2006, “Although it was merely a dream in the past, 3G phones are now a reality with almost all phone carriers upgrading their systems to 3G phones.” “In fact, some of the core features of the patent has been used since late 2000. These recent 3G advances in the industry however opens more doors to take advantage of all our core features,” he added. “In 2005, approximately 780 million cell phones were marketed worldwide and 18% (approximately 140 million) were sold in the U.S. Surprisingly, an additional 50 million visitors from the remaining 82% of the foreign market utilizes core features in the U.S. without ever paying license fees. In consideration of this fact, it is our goal to pursue legal action to maximize compensation beyond the typical 5.5 to 6% fees in royalties.” The patent at issue is U.S. Patent Number 6,681,120 The cases are Minerva Industries, Inc. v. Research In Motion Corporation et al., case no. 2:07-cv-00230, and Minerva Industries Inc. v. Motorola Inc. et al., case no. 2:07-cv-00229, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.