New York technology firm plans to sue Google

A small New York technology firm said Friday it was planning to sue the world top search titan Google Inc for up to 5 bln usd for patent violation in the Internet telephony software used in Google Talk.

Jerry Weinberger, chief executive of Rates Technology Inc (RTI) claimed that he, was the inventor of software programming that allows telephone calls to be placed over the Internet.

He said 120 companies, including Lucent, Cisco, IBM, Yahoo and Microsoft, have paid RTI to use the technology for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls.

RTI filed suit in a Long Island federal court against Google two months ago because the search engine was using the technology without authorization, Weinberger said after the New York Post reported the lawsuit Friday.

Weinberger alleged that Google has abused two patented RTI software programs in Google Talk, which enables users to talk through a computer headset or to instant message each other for free.

He said Google could be liable for damages of up to 5 bln usd in a trial, unless it settles the complaint out of court.

Google spokesman Steve Langdon responded dismissively. 'We believe the lawsuit is without merit and we will defend against it vigorously,' he said. newsdesk@afxnews.com

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