ROCHESTER, N.Y.-Dec. 20, 2001--The U.S. District Court has ruled today that Xerox Corporation's Unistrokes patent is valid and was infringed upon by Palm Inc. and 3Com in their handheld electronic organizers using Graffiti. Judge Michael Telesca, U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, ruled in the lawsuit originally filed by Xerox that the company's "656 patent is valid and enforceable,'' and that the "Graffiti product infringes (it).'' The decision ends the liability portion of the case, clearing the way for Xerox to seek damages in the next phase of trial. The trial court will determine the amount of damages for past infringement of the patent and Palm's ability to continue to use the technology. If the infringement was willful, the court can triple the amount of damages due to Xerox. Both Palm and 3Com are jointly and separately liable. "Xerox always aggressively defends its patent portfolio - a valuable corporate asset. Today's ruling vindicates our position that our handwriting-recognition patent was infringed. Either Palm will have to cease production of its handheld organizer or license the technology from Xerox,'' said Christina Clayton, Xerox general counsel. In April 1997, Xerox sued U.S. Robotics, later acquired by 3Com, claiming that the handwriting recognition technology marketed as Graffiti and used in Palm handheld devices infringed a Xerox patent received on Jan. 21, 1997. The technology in question, known as Unistrokes, was invented at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. This ruling reinforces a 1997 certification from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office validating the Xerox Unistrokes patent. "We continue to serve notice that Xerox will always take the appropriate actions to protect its valuable patents from unauthorized use and infringement,'' added Clayton.