Xerox Suit

A lawsuit claiming that 3Com Corp. violated patent regulations when it developed the handwriting-recognition system for the Palm hand-held computer has been dismissed by a federal judge. Xerox Corp. alleged in the lawsuit that its scientists invented the “Unistroke” software that recognizes one-stroke motions as characters, the base of Palm’s handwriting-recognition system. But in a decision released Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Michael A. Telesca granted 3Com’s dismissal motion, saying there was “no genuine issue as to any material fact.” Xerox spokeswoman Christa Carone said the Stamford, Conn.-based company was reviewing the judge’s decision before deciding whether to appeal. Xerox filed the suit against 3Com in April 1997, four months after receiving a patent for handwriting recognition. Xerox closed up 44 cents at $26.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. 3Com closed up 81 cents at $47.38 and its recently spun-off unit Palm Inc. rose 19 cents to close at $25.50, both on Nasdaq.