"Germany is the first to patent, so prior art is not as big an issue there."

Dear CenturyCom,

let me say it plain without wanting to be offensive, but with this you are wrong.

Of course in the German patent business as well as in the European patent business "Prior Art" (German: Stand der Technik) is a very big issue. One of the main tasks of an examiner there is to search for prior art. I he/she is successful in finding something similar or close to the pending patent then you won't get a protective right -by no means.

And let me tell you just another thing I know from experience, the examiners usally check thoroughly and exhaustively.

If the opposing party, in our case "Deutsche Telekom" had come up with any relevant proof of prior art -and any includes research papers, publications etc. - then the action of nullity would have been won by them.

But as you know they lost which should give us shareholders reasonable hope, cause they surely had not just some laymen for their attorneys that the USPO won't find anything relevant, too.

Therefore I consider the statement of Mr. Goerner,"While the action, initiated by Deutsche Telecom, to nullify the German patent was positive in the favor of our patent, the decision is expected to have no impact on the ultimate result of the USPTO re-examinations underway on four of the seven MMP™ patents." an understatement.

Yes, the decision per se has no impact on the ultimate result of the USPTO but I ask you, do you think that if all those lawyers and examiners in Germany didn't come up with heavy material the US guys will haul out the big guns which where hidden so many years now?

Mr. Goerner's statement is just a wise and modest and in my opinion comes out of a position of strength. He avoids to annoy the USPTO-examiner who won't be able to find anything of relevance like the Germans. But he is independent and has to decide on his own. That is what I get from Mr. Goerner.

All the best to you,

Jerry