infoTECH Feature

November 04, 2008

Avistar Earns Ten New Patents Worldwide for Real-Time Communications

Avistar Communications Corporation, a provider of unified visual communications solutions, has been awarded five new U.S. patents, including its 92nd patent (U.S. # 7,441,001). In the last 45 days, a total of 10 new patents were issued across the globe.
 
Avistar (News - Alert) said its new patents are part of the 10 foreign and domestic patents, which cover real-time communications (issued since September). The company already has 13 existing patents to its credit in the real-time communications area and the addition of 10 new patents will nearly double the number of patents, which will cover text, instant messaging (IM), VoIP, desktop video conferencing, as well as wireless communications, mobile devices, directories and servers.
 
Simon Moss, CEO of Avistar, said, "These new patents, which apply to service offerings and products involving two or more real-time communications services, continue to expand Avistar's intellectual property coverage. Since the early 1990s, Avistar has been a pioneer in unified communications, and the latest patents involve real-time communications, an area that will continue to grow in importance for the industry.”
 
“We believe that our current portfolio represents the world's most comprehensive and deepest IP holdings in this rapidly growing commercial area. From a product perspective, our commitment to research and development means that our customers continue to get the latest technology, allowing us to set the pace for the industry," added Moss.
 
Avistar’s recently granted real-time communications European patent applications have been nationalized in the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands. These European patents cover real-time communications that incorporates three users, either in two two-way sessions or as a single three-way session.
 
In February, Microsoft Corporation challenged Avistar to re-examine its entire U.S. patent portfolio and had submitted to the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) noting its arguments, but Avistar cleared it all.
 
Later, the USPTO rejected 19 of Microsoft's (News - Alert) 29 requests. After a request from Microsoft, the USPTO reconsidered their rejection of five re-examination requests. The re-examination process relating to the allowed requests is under process, says the company.
 
Avistar also said that three other foreign and domestic patent applications of the company have been allowed and are expected to be issued in the next several months. These patents will also cover additional aspects of real-time communications as well as software, systems and applications that are related to popular and enterprise on-line recorded video services.
 
Avistar provides its intellectual property to potential partners and licensees through an active licensing program.
 
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Fixed Service Strategies for Mobile Network Operators, brought to you by Comverse (News - Alert).
 
 

Jayashree Adkoli is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Jayashree's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Michelle Robart
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