Motorola Inc’s Information Systems Group has sued US Robotics Corp for alleged infringement of a number of patents for Motorola’s modem technology (CI No 3,100). The suit pertains primarily to Motorola patents for V.34 technology, but may also apply to V.34-style return paths for 56Kbps modems, according to Motorola. The company said it resorted to the action only after several years of negotiations. According to US Robotics, the company has meritorious defenses to Motorola’s claims and intends to mount a vigorous defense of the lawsuit. In direct contrast, and announced on the same day as the US Robotics suit, Rockwell International Corp settled a modem patent dispute with Motorola with an agreement to pay Motorola a royalty. Motorola and Rockwell’s Rockwell Semiconductor Systems also announced plans to jointly develop Rockwell’s K56 56Kbps modem technology, which Rockwell and its development partner Lucent Technologies Inc hopes will win acceptance as the industry standard against US Robotic’s own planned x2 56Kbps technology. Motorola said it expects to introduce modems in early March based on Rockwell’s K56 technology.
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