London, UK, 20 July 2004 – BTG plc (LSE: BGC), the IP and technology commercialisation company, Teleshuttle Corporation and Teleshuttle Technologies LLC today announced that they have filed suit in Federal Court in the Northern District of California against Microsoft for infringement of Teleshuttle Technologies’ patents covering Microsoft’s active desktop and offline browsing technologies. The suit was filed at approximately 09.00 PDT / 17.00 BST today.
The suit charges Microsoft, whose Windows® operating systems incorporate these patented technologies, with infringement of United States patent numbers 6,658,464, 6,611,862 and 6,125,388. BTG, which has the exclusive worldwide licensing rights to all three patents, is represented by the law firm of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett, and Dunner, L.L.P. The suit asks for unspecified damages for past infringing activity and an injunction against future use of the technology. This move follows Microsoft’s delay in entering into a licensing agreement with BTG on commercially reasonable terms.
The 6,125,388, 6,611,862 and 6,658,464 patents, granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office on 26 September 2000, 26 August 2003 and 2 December 2003, respectively, are a result of the work of the inventor, Richard Reisman, in the early 1990s, well before the Internet became mainstream. While seeking to create new methods and products to enhance the usefulness of online computing, Reisman conceived and created his inventions. He sought out the assistance of BTG in 1998 to help protect his inventions through patenting. The patents are owned by Teleshuttle Technologies LLC with BTG as the exclusive worldwide licensee.
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Contact
Andy Burrows (Investors, UK Media)
BTG
+44 20 7575 1741
Mobile: +44 7990 530605
andy.burrows@btgplc.com
Christopher DeFusco (Business, US Media)
BTG
+1 610 943 3607
christopher.defusco@btgplc.com
Ben Atwell (UK Media)
Financial Dynamics
+44 (0)20 7831 3113
About BTG
BTG creates value by investing in intellectual property and technology development, and in early stage ventures. We realise value through technology licensing, patent assertion and sale of equity investments. Through a multidisciplinary approach, we apply intellectual property and commercial expertise, together with specialist skills in science and technology, to create major product opportunities in the health and high tech sectors. BTG has commercialised important innovations, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging, working closely with Professor Sir Peter Mansfield, who was jointly awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize for Medicine, and others who made contributory inventions to MRI. BTG has also commercialised Multilevel Cell Memory, Campath® (alemtuzumab), the first monoclonal antibody treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and recombinant Factor IX blood clotting protein. BTG operates through wholly owned subsidiaries BTG International Ltd. and BTG International Inc. in the UK and USA, respectively. Further information about BTG can be found at www.btgplc.com.
About Teleshuttle Technologies and Richard Reisman
Richard Reisman is a long-time leader and inventor in the fields of e-business, interactive media, and information services, and is also the president and founder of the Teleshuttle Corporation. Reisman’s involvement in hypermedia and electronic communities began in the 1960s, leading to his involvement in a variety of IT consulting, planning, and software development, with companies like Standard & Poors, AT&T, and Mobil Corporation. In the 1990s, he co-founded UNET, and developed the original versions of TV Guide Online in a joint venture with News Corp. More recently, Reisman has been involved as an inventor and entrepreneur in patent development in the e-business and e-media space, and is currently working on “CoTV”, a dual-media invention that combines television and PC/Web capabilities. Reisman began his partnership with BTG in 1998, to protect and commercialize his “transporter” technology. Further information can be found at www.teleshuttle.com.