Handset Makers Sued over Bluetooth

Three major electronics companies have been sued by a foundation which claims that their use of Bluetooth wireless technology infringed on patented work at the University of Washington. According to the lawsuit, Bluetooth-based computers, cell phones and headsets made by Matsushita, Samsung, and Nokia have violated four patents, including one that was issued for research done in the mid-1990s by Edwin Suominen when he was an undergraduate student at the University of Washington.

The case was filed in U.S. District Court against Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. of Japan, Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea and Nokia Corp. of Finland by the Washington Research Institute, a nonprofit group that seeks commercial uses for patented technology developed at the state’s public universities and enforces the patents. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and was filed Dec. 21. Reports on it were published Dec. 23 by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and on Wednesday by Dow Jones and The Seattle Times. Continue>>