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Avistar to cut jobs due to Microsoft's patent challenge |
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Written by Felix Da Silva (fdasilva@bitnip.com)
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Friday, 28 March 2008 |
 Avistar said it will cut its work force by about 25 percent due in large part to Microsoft's recent challenge to all of Avistar's
U.S. patents through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
According to BizJournals, Microsoft challenged all of Avistar's 29 U.S. patents using the USPTO's
re-examination process after licensing discussions.
Avistar CEO Simon Moss said,
This single action against Avistar's complete U.S. patent portfolio represents
over 5 percent of the entire 2007 third-party re-examination challenges at the
USPTO. The company said,
The prospect of an extensive re-examination process and the potential
impact on Avistar's financial outlook have left Avistar with no alternative but
to proactively and decisively execute this set of cost reductions in order to
protect its intellectual property and its associated product business.
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