Mosaid sues HTC and Sony Ericsson

Mosaid Technologies is suing HTC America, Inc. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (USA), Inc. for infringing three U.S. patents that are essential to all cellular telephones that implement the emergency 911 (E-911) standard, as mandated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The patent infringement suit was filed on July 7, 2011 in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. Mosaid acquired the patent portfolio, which consists of U.S. patents and patent applications, and foreign counterparts, in early 2011. The patents enable cellular telephones to transmit the phone's geographic location when the user makes an emergency 911 call. In its complaint, Mosaid asserts that HTC and Sony Ericsson manufacture and sell cellular phones in the United States that infringe Mosaid's U.S. patent nos. 5,650,770; 6,198,390; and 6,518,889. The cellular phones that infringe the asserted patents include navigational receivers, radio transmitters, switches, circuits, sensors and other electronic elements that enable cell phones to provide emergency call features, such as a GPS receiver that uses satellite signals to calculate the phone's location, and the ability to make an emergency call using only a voice command to the phone.