Palm to pay $US22.5M to settle Xerox suit

NEW YORK - Handheld computer and phone maker Palm Wednesday said it will pay $US22.5 million to Xerox to settle a long-standing patent dispute.

The settlement ends a battle, spanning some 9 years, over "Graffiti" - which Xerox called "Unistrokes" - software that lets users enter data by writing alphabet-like symbols on their Palm screens.

Palm said it will take a charge in its fiscal fourth quarter related to the settlement. Xerox said proceeds from the agreement will be offset in its second quarter results by costs related to the expected settlement of other legal matters.

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