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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2004 Acacia Expands Patent Holdings Army Contracts for Electronic System to Eliminate Paper Symantec Acquires Veritas ACACIA EXPANDS PATENT HOLDINGS Acacia Research, which has made a name for itself pursuing patent infringement lawsuits, has acquired Global Patent Holdings, an umbrella company whose holdings represent numerous high-tech patents. One of Global Patent's companies, TechSearch, has already entered into licensing deals with companies including Sony and Samsung. Previously, Acacia has threatened or taken legal action against a range of companies, alleging patent infringement for technologies that stream media over the Web. Targets of that legislation have included pornography Web sites, the Walt Disney Company, and colleges and universities that use streaming media in online education. Acacia said the new acquisition will expand its patent holdings to cover dozens of technologies, or parts of them, including those related to P2P communication and spreadsheet software. Paul Ryan, CEO of Acacia, said, "We will continue to acquire additional portfolios, as Acacia moves towards its goal of becoming the leading technology licensing company." Analysts said Acacia's business model of acquiring patents and earning revenues through licenses represents a growing trend in the technology industry. CNET, 16 December 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-5494119.html ARMY CONTRACTS FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEM TO ELIMINATE PAPER The U.S. Army has contracted with IBM and several smaller companies to develop an entirely electronic records-management system to be implemented over the next 10 years. Army personnel fill out approximately 15 million forms each year, using as many as 100,000 different forms, for tasks including ordering supplies, keeping medical records, and managing awards and citations. Under the current system, forms must be printed out, hand-signed, and moved manually through all applicable authorizations. The new system, part of the Army's Forms Content Management Program, will eliminate much of that paperwork and save large amounts of money. According to Jim Acklin, the director of the project, the Army will save $1.3 billion a year in "cost avoidance." In addition to IBM, the project includes services from PureEdge and Silanis, two Canadian companies. Reuters, 17 December 2004 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7126627 SYMANTEC ACQUIRES VERITAS Symantec Corporation this week announced a $13.5 billion plan to purchase Veritas Software Corporation. Symantec is known primarily for its Norton antivirus software, while Veritas focuses on tools for data storage and management. The resulting company, which will keep the Symantec name, will be the world's fourth-largest software company, with annual revenues of about $5 billion. John W. Thompson, CEO of Symantec, will become chief executive of the new company after the deal closes in the second quarter of 2005. No layoffs are planned, according to Thompson,who denied suggestions that the acquisition is a result of anticipated slowing in the market for antivirus software. He called the move "offensive" and said Symantec's current core business is "very, very solid." The new company, Thompson said, will "help customers balance the need to both secure their information and make it available," ensuring data integrity on corporate networks. New York Times, 16 December 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/16/technology/16cnd-compute.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2004, EDUCAUSE
