Esquire Deposition Services comments on Engate/LiveNote agreement

September 8, 2003 - NCRA's August 15 NewsFlash updated the status of the Engate litigation, specifically the recently announced Engate/LiveNote realtime licensing agreement. The NewsFlash reported that LiveNote's stated rationale for the arrangement was to eliminate the uncertainty created by Engate's claims and the threat of future claims. LiveNote states that its arrangement with Engate provides a safe harbor for reporters who participate.

Esquire Deposition Services, one of the defendants in the Engate litigation, states in a letter sent to its reporters that it will not support or promote the LiveNote agreement. The letter says Esquire "believes that the license plan is flawed in that it seeks to collect a royalty on a realtime connection regardless of whose software is being used and regardless of whether any of the alleged infringing features are being used." For the full text of LiveNote's announcement of its realtime license plan, visit http://www.livenote.com/.

NCRA expressed this same concern in correspondence sent to LiveNote on August 15 seeking clarification of many aspects of the Engate/LiveNote licensing agreement. For the list of questions NCRA submitted to LiveNote.

According to its letter, Esquire believes that it and the other defendants are in a strong position regarding the Engate litigation. As the defendants await the court's ruling on Engate's motion for reconsideration of its earlier decision of no direct infringement and a ruling on the claim of indirect infringement, Esquire believes that favorable decisions by the court will offer strong precedents that can be used to help defend other reporting firms or court reporters who might be pursued by Engate at a later date. For the full text of the Esquire correspondence and its view of the current status of the Engate litigation, visit http://http://www.esquiredeposition.com/articles.html..

On the vendor front, Summation Legal Technologies, a manufacturer of litigation-support software, has posted a statement on its Web site regarding the Engate patent claims and recent events. For the full text of the company's statement, visit http://www.summation.com/courtreps/engate.htm.

NCRA is pursuing discussions with all parties in the litigation and the LiveNote proposal to gather additional, authoritative information about these developments and to get answers to the many questions that remain. NCRA continues to provide as much information and support as we can so that individual member reporters can make an informed and independent decision of what actions are in their own and their business's best interests. NCRA will also continue to help facilitate the defense of those member reporters who have decided to join the joint defense group.

For the most current information on the Engate matter, visit NCRA's Key Issues Area.