AT&T, Motorola sued over 3G network patents
AT&T Inc., Apple Inc. and Motorola Inc. were sued by a New Jersey company over claims they infringed patents for components that boost connections between mobile devices and 3G networks.
AT&T's 3G network, Apple's iPhone and Motorola's Tundra, Backflip and Karma devices all infringe two patents held by Golden Bridge Technology Inc., according to a complaint filed May 21 in federal court in Delaware.
Golden Bridge, a closely held company based in Long Branch, New Jersey, claims to hold patents for components of cell phones and cell towers that allow data to be transmitted via "rapid, efficient" connections over a universal third-generation network.
AT&T, the biggest U.S. phone company, took a non-exclusive license to all of GBT's present and future technology in December 1998, according to the complaint. AT&T allowed the licensing agreement to expire in 2003 and did not retain any residual or on-going rights, according to the complaint.
AT&T spokesman Rolf Gatlin couldn't immediately comment on the lawsuit. Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette and Motorola spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson weren't immediately available to comment.
Shares of Dallas-based AT&T fell 35 cents to $24.50 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 11:31 a.m. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, rose $6.75, or 2.8 percent, to $249.07 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading in New York. Motorola, of Schaumburg, fell 8 cents to $6.76 on the NYSE. Locally, AT&T has operations in Hoffman Estates.
The case is Golden Bridge Technology Inc. v. AT&T Inc., 10- 00428, U.S. District Court District of Delaware (Wilmington).