Visto Sues Good Technology Over Mobile E-Mail

Visto, which recently sued Microsoft for patent infringement regarding mobile e-mail technology, said Tuesday it has sued Good Technology on similar grounds.

Good has been a major competitor in the mobile e-mail market to Research In Motion, which has been sued for patent infringement by NTP. Visto and NTP recently announced a patent cross-licensing deal for mobile e-mail technology.

"We have made tremendous technological and financial investments since 1996 and we refuse to allow others to benefit freely from our hard work and commitment to innovation," Visto CEO and president Brian A. Bogosian said in a statement.

"Good Technology, like other late entrants to this market, has no patents directed to wireless e-mail and very clearly infringes on our long-held intellectual property," he added.

Bogosian acknowledged "justifiable marketplace jitters" about the possibility that a federal judge could rule next month to shut down BlackBerry service in the U.S. He said, though, that BlackBerry and Good Technology users with such jitters could use Visto's products. The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas, claims that Good products, including its widely-used GoodLink, infringe on five separate Visto patents. Besides a permanent injunction, Visto has asked for unspecified monetary damages from Good Technology.