Xerox’s Suit Over Graffiti Reinstated

A federal appeals court reinstated a Xerox Corp. patent-infringement lawsuit against Palm Inc., 3Com Corp. and U.S. Robotics Corp. over handwriting-recognition software.

Xerox had sued Palm, its then-parent 3Com and U.S. Robotics over Palm’s Graffiti software, which lets users learn a simple series of shorthand strokes to enter data such as names and addresses into hand-held organizers.

A federal judge in Rochester, N.Y., had dismissed the suit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed that decision, saying the judge misinterpreted how and where the symbols must be written to be recognized by the software.

Palm said it is reviewing the decision and was not ready to comment.

Shares of Palm closed unchanged at $1.55, while 3Com shares rose 4 cents to $3.77, both on Nasdaq. Both companies are based in Santa Clara, Calif. U.S. Robotics is a closely held company.