Visto Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Good Technology

And now we are starting to see the law suits run wild:

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ — Visto Corporation, a leading global provider of secure push email services, announced today that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Good Technology. The suit, which alleges that Good’s products and services infringe on multiple patents held by Visto, was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas.

“Visto’s commitment to providing our customers with world-class remote email and data access services depends on our ability to protect the intellectual property that we worked tirelessly to develop almost a decade ago,” said Brian A. Bogosian, Visto Chairman, CEO and President.

“By offering our service in 75 mobile phones through some of the world’s largest mobile phone carriers, Visto has established itself as a strong player in the mobile email market,” continued Bogosian. “We have made tremendous technological and financial investments since 1996 and we refuse to allow others to benefit freely from our hard work and commitment to innovation.”

“There are justifiable marketplace jitters about whether BlackBerry service will be shut down by a federal court next month,” noted Bogosian. “With Visto, all users, including BlackBerry users, have a safe harbor alternative to RIM that offers protection from intellectual property risks. Good Technology, like other late entrants to this market, has no patents directed to wireless e-mail and very clearly infringes on our long-held intellectual property.”

Visto is a leading global provider of communications platforms with a client list that includes Cingular, Sprint Nextel, the Vodafone Group, Rogers Wireless, and many others. Individual and business subscribers get Visto Mobile service through their mobile phone carrier.

Daniel Mendez, Visto’s Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, created the company in 1996 to enable users to access sensitive data, including email, even behind secure corporate firewalls. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, the company today employs more than 350 people in ten countries. Visto currently holds 25 patents, including those related to mobile email and data access systems, and has 57 patents pending.

Led by Mr. Mendez, Visto developed and secured the patents at issue in the lawsuit against Good, specifically:

  • U.S. Patent No. 5,961,590 titled, “System And Method For Synchronizing Electronic Mail Between A Client Site And A Central Site”
  • U.S. Patent No. 6,085,192 titled, “System And Method For Securely Synchronizing Multiple Copies Of A Workspace Element In A Network”
  • U.S. Patent No. 6,708,221 titled, “System And Method For Globally And Securely Accessing Unified Information In A Computer Network”
  • U.S. Patent No. 6,151,606 titled, “System And Method For Using A Workspace Data Manager To Access, Manipulate And Synchronize Network Data”

In the claim, Visto alleges that various Good Technology products, including GoodLink, their push email service, infringe on the patents that Visto has held for the past nine years. The suit seeks a permanent injunction against GoodLink and Good’s other infringing technology, which can power several mobile devices including the Palm Treo, HP’s iPAQ hw6500, and the Motorola MPx220, among others. The suit also seeks monetary damages.

About Visto

Visto delivers the leading global platform for mobile operators to provide wireless push email to the broadest set of mobile devices. Visto’s open solution enables email for the mass market, targeting large enterprises, small businesses, mobile professionals and consumers. Visto’s customized, brandable solutions are available through mobile operators worldwide including Cingular, Elisa, KPN, Rogers Wireless, SmarTone, SFR, Sprint Nextel, TELUS Mobility and the Vodafone Group.

Established in 1996, Visto is backed by Oak Investment Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, DFJ ePlanet Ventures, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Meritech Capital Partners, Rustic Canyon Ventures, Allegis Capital and Blueprint Ventures. For more information, visit http://www.visto.com .

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