Forwarded From: "Spencer, Will" <wspencert_private> (contributed by Kathy Ivens, updatenewst_private) * PATENT SUIT FILED OVER SECURITY SOFTWARE: ACCUSATIONS FLY IN BOTH * DIRECTIONS Last week, Network Associates (NA) brought suit against Internet Security Systems (ISS) for patent infringement, claiming that the ISS RealSecure product violates a patent owned by NA. The products NA claims the patent covers are the NA CyberCop tools included in Net Tools Secure. The merger of Network General and McAfee Associates created NA. I spoke with Patrick Taylor, director of strategic marketing for ISS, who said the lawsuit is without merit. He accused NA of using the suit to retard the growth of ISS and hinted that ISS is considering countersuits. Taylor said that before NA filed the suit, ISS President and CEO Tom Noonan received a call from an institutional investor, who reported that William Larsen (CEO of NA) had publicly stated in a meeting of investors that he was filing the suit. Taylor said the caller quoted Larsen as saying, "That should slow down their sales." Taylor said the caller expressed outrage about Larsen's use of such tactics. Taylor continued that ISS is familiar with the patent NA cited in the suit, which was originally held by Haystack Labs. Trusted Information Systems (TIS) purchased Haystack, and NA subsequently purchased TIS. "We're comfortable and confident that there is no case of intellectual property infringement," Taylor said. He added, "We never got a phone call. [NA] went straight to court. They've done this before; they're fairly fond of using the courts for business tactics." "When you're the leader in a fast-growing market, other companies try to bully their way into your space," Taylor said. "They use heavy- handed tactics instead of competing effectively with products and customer satisfaction. We feel like David in a David and Goliath battle." (In fact, ISS is not a David in this field; the company enjoys the largest market share.) Taylor expressed optimism that the court will recognize the suit's lack of merit. He declined to be more specific about the nature of any countersuits ISS was considering because of Larsen's alleged public statements. Art Wong, who is the director of intrusion protection at NA, denied that Larsen made the statements that the institutional investor alleged. "It's completely untrue. [Larsen] said nothing to that effect," Wong told me, adding, "I don't know where they got their information." Wong insists that NA's lawsuit is nothing more than a normal desire to protect a patent. "We have a whole suite of products; this patent affects a small portion. The CyberCop suite is just a part of our Net Tools Secure suite, and CyberCop Network is the product that has to do with this patent. It sells well, and in fact the whole Cybercop suite has been accepted very favorably. It's really just a matter of protecting our intellectual property." Wong stated that he is sure the technology used by RealSecure is the same technology that is protected by the patent. He added that he has no way of knowing whether ISS knew about the patent when it introduced RealSecure, but he said he'd leave that to the courts to decide. "We've long been known as an innovator, and that's a position we have to protect," Wong told me. The suit asks for treble damages for any willful infringement of the patent, and also asks the court to provide injunctive relief by stopping the manufacture and sale of RealSecure. The Federal District Court for the Northern District of California has not yet set a date for the courtroom drama to begin. Stay tuned. -o- Subscribe: mail majordomot_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: New Dimensions International [www.newdimensions.net]
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Apr 13 2001 - 12:59:17 PDT