(keitai-l) Who owns what in this industry

The following was in the MforMobile email newsletter that I received today
(http://www.mformobile.com/newsletters/newsletter213/newsletter213.html):


"Openwave has contributed two pieces of its IP to the project. One piece
consists of its extensions to the Wireless Markup Language, the WAP
scripting language, which enables the creation of graphical user
applications. The other is its download capability, which will allow
carriers to deliver java applets, new ringtones, wallpaper and animations to
a handset and bill the user."

I get frustrated when it is so difficult to figure out who owns what, or
claims to own what, in this industry.

What, precisely, does it mean to say that Openwave has contributed "its
download capability, which will allow carriers to deliver java applets, new
ringtones, wallpaper and animations to a handset and bill the user." Is this
some sort of weird, Bezos-ish, "one-click shopping" patent?

NTT DoCoMo is already "delivering Java applets, ringtones, wallpaper and
animations to a handset and bill the user" in Japan on i-mode -- and (AFIK)
no licensing fees (to anyone) are crossing palms. So, what does Openwave
claim to own, and is DoCoMo and AT&T Wireless going to get their rear ends
sued when they try to launch i-mode in the US next year?

--Daniel




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