[A2k] Pubpat Kills JPEG Patent

[Seth Johnson]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: PUBPAT News: PATENT ASSERTED AGAINST JPEG STANDARD
REJECTED BY PATENTOFFICE AS RESULT OF PUBPAT REQUEST
Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 07:08:56 -0400
From: Public Patent Foundation <info@pubpat.org>
To: PUBPAT News List <news@pubpat.org>

PATENT ASSERTED AGAINST JPEG STANDARD REJECTED BY PATENT OFFICE
AS RESULT OF PUBPAT REQUEST: Public Interest Group's Review
Results in Broadest Claims of Forgent Networks Patent Being Ruled
Invalid

NEW YORK -- May 26, 2006 -- In the reexamination proceeding
initiated late last year by the Public Patent Foundation
("PUBPAT"), the United States Patent and Trademark Office has
rejected the broadest claims of the patent Forgent Networks
(Nasdaq: FORG) is asserting against the Joint Photographic
Experts Group (JPEG) international standard for the electronic
sharing of photo-quality images. In its Office Action released
yesterday, the Patent Office found that the prior art submitted
by PUBPAT completely anticipated the broadest claims of the
patent, U.S. Patent No. 4,698,672 (the '672 Patent).

Forgent Networks acquired the '672 Patent through the purchase of
Compression Labs, Inc. in 1997 and began aggressively asserting
it against the JPEG standard through lawsuits and the media in
2004. The company has the opportunity to respond to the Patent
Office's rejection, but third party requests for reexamination,
like the one filed by PUBPAT, result in having the subject patent
either modified or completely revoked roughly 70% of the time.

"The Patent Office has agreed with our conclusion that it would
have never granted Forgent Networks' '672 patent had it been
aware of the prior art that we uncovered and submitted to them,"
said Dan Ravicher, PUBPAT's Executive Director.  "Making matters
worse here is that this new prior art was known by those who
filed the application that led to the '672 patent, but none of
them told the Patent Office about it, despite their duty to do
so."

More information about the reexamination the Forgent Networks
patent being asserted against the JPEG standard, including a copy
of the Patent Office's Office Action rejecting its broadest
claims, can be found at http://www.pubpat.org/Protecting.htm.

Contact:

Daniel Ravicher, Executive Director
Public Patent Foundation
(212) 796-0570
info@pubpat.org

About PUBPAT:

The Public Patent Foundation ("PUBPAT") is a not-for-profit legal
services organization working to protect the public from the
harms caused by the patent system, particularly the harms caused
by wrongly issued patents and unsound patent policy.  To be kept
informed of PUBPAT News, subscribe to the PUBPAT News List by
sending an email with "subscribe" in the subject line to
news-request@pubpat.org.  To be removed from the PUBPAT News
List, send an email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line to
news-request@pubpat.org.

###