Palm ‘Confident’ It Can Withstand Apple Patent Threat

Palm said Friday it won’t be threatened by Apple’s hint of lawsuit should rivals mimic too closely its best-selling iPhone. The maker of the new Pre smartphone did some trash talking of its own, bringing up “fundamental” handset patents it owns.

“If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves,” Palm spokewoman Lynn Fox told the Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsD.

Fox said Palm controls a “robust patent portfolio” that includes possibly vital aspects of cell phone design. Palm’s Treo handset is seen as breaking ground for Apple and other smartphone makers.

“We will not stand for having our intellectual property ripped off and we’ll use whatever weapons we have at our disposal,” Tim Cook, Apple’s interim CEO, said Wednesday. Cook refused to name Palm as the target of the warning.

Palm’s stock prices shot up after the embattled handset maker introduced the Pre at the CES earlier this month. Despite no firm shipping date, the new phone’s development is overseen by Jon Rubinstein, a former Apple exec who worked on the iPod.

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