In a suit filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Visto asserted that Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0 is a "blatant" infringement of Visto’s patented technology. Visto’s concerns about this market are heightened by Microsoft’s recent decision to bundle Windows Mobile 5.0 with their already market-dominating Exchange server software.

The company is seeking a permanent injunction that would prohibit Microsoft from misappropriating the technology that Visto and its cofounder helped develop nearly a decade ago.

Brian A. Bogosian, Visto’s Chairman, CEO and President, explained that:

“Microsoft has a long and well-documented history of acquiring the technology of others, branding it as their own, and entering new markets. In some cases, they buy that technology from its creator. In other cases, they wrongfully misappropriate the intellectual property that belongs to others, which has forced them to acknowledge and settle large IP cases with companies like Sun, AT&T and Burst.com. For their foray into mobile email and data access, Microsoft simply decided to misappropriate Visto’s well known and documented patented technology.”

According to Visto, company co-founder Daniel Méndez and others developed the system to allow consumers to securely receive their email and other sensitive data via mobile phones or other mobile devices while traveling. Méndez and Visto went on to patent the system that drives email from personal or business servers to mobile devices like cell phones and allows users to access sensitive data and email stored behind highly secure corporate firewalls.

“With the recent explosion in smart phone technology and demand for mobile email access, the market has caught up with Visto’s original vision,” observed Mr. Méndez. “We worked many long nights over many years and invested heavily to develop and patent our technology at a time when many people thought we were working on future fantasies. Now, when the market potential is obvious to everyone, other companies want to misappropriate the technologies that we invented and to benefit, for free, from our hard work and innovation.”

“Innovative companies have been pummeled out of existence or into minor players after Microsoft decided to enter their markets,” Bogosian added. “Netscape and RealNetworks are among the best known examples. Courts around the world have ruled time after time against Microsoft, saying that it has acted either inappropriately or in violation of the law, especially concerning how they have treated competing companies. We will not let that happen to Visto."