US Patent Office Rejects Some Forgent JPEG Compression Patent Claims

Forgent Networks, a company that licenses intellectual property, had 19 of 46 claims in one of its patents rejected by a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) examiner, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The claims are related to data-compression technology commonly associated with the JPEG file format, which is used to store photos on electronic devices like PCs and digital cameras, according to the Journal.

Austin, Texas-based Forgent is in litigation proceedings with roughly 30 other firms regarding the 4,698,672 patent, otherwise known as the ’672 patent, which it claims covers the data-compression technology, according to the Journal.

Forgent said it was glad 27 of the 46 patent claims were upheld, and it believes the others are also valid. It will work with the USPTO to clear up the issue, according to the Journal.

Forgent has the option of filing a federal appeal, which could end up in a years-long fiasco, as did the high-profile NTP-Research In Motion patent spat.

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