Openwave Systems Soaring 23% On Patent Litigation

Openwave Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: OPWV) shares are soaring today, as news hit earlier that the $150 million company is suing Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) over patents.

According to AppleInsider, Openwave Systems has accused both companies of using some of Openwave's patents in their popular electronic devices. Openwave says the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch have violated Openwave's patents, while the Blackberry is accused of infringing on patents.

"Openwave invented technologies that became foundational to the mobile Internet," Ken Denman, Chief Executive Officer of Openwave, said in a statement. "We believe that these large companies should pay us for the use of our technologies, particularly in light of the substantial revenue these companies have earned from devices that use our intellectual property."

"Before filing these complaints, we approached both of these companies numerous times in an attempt to negotiate a license of our technology with them and did not receive a substantive response."

At last check, shares of Openwave were up 31 cents to $1.78, a gain of 21.12%‎ on over 6 million shares.