(Associated Press via NewsEdge) NTP, which successfully sued the maker of BlackBerry devices for infringement of wireless email patents, said it is suing Palm, maker of the Treo smart phone.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court, alleges that Palm's products, services, systems and processes have improperly used NTP's wireless email technology.
Palm's shares tumbled $1.17 to $14.24 in Nasdaq trading, the entire 7.6% loss coming after news of the suit broke.
The suit asks the court to bar Palm from 'continuing to infringe on NTP's patents' and seeks monetary damages for the alleged past infringements.
A telephone message left for a Palm representative on Monday afternoon was not immediately returned.
In March, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion agreed to pay NTP $612.5 million to settle a four-year patent dispute. Though it never conceded wrongdoing, RIM acknowledged that customers had delayed placing new orders due to the threat of a court-ordered shutdown of the BlackBerry system.
The Palm complaint also centers on products, services and systems that integrate email systems with wireless communications, including the Treo, Palm VII, Palm i700 and Tungsten products.
At issue are seven patents, dating from 1995 to 2001, according to the lawsuit. Five of the patents were part of NTP's lawsuit against RIM.
NTP co-founder Donald E. Stout said his company has tried to work out a licensing agreement with Palm.
The lawsuit is a 'last resort to protect our valuable intellectual property,' Stout said in a statement.
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