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Sirius, XM Sued on Patent

Scott Moritz

Updated from 1:25 p.m.

A patentholder has sued merger partners Sirius (SIRI Quote) and XM (XMSR Quote), claiming infringement.

Attorneys representing Austin, Texas-based Keystone Autonics are seeking an injunction, damages and legal fees against the satellite radio duo, according to a lawsuit filed last month in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

The patent at issue was awarded to George Hindman of Keystone Autonics in January. It applies to specific input and display processing of wireless data for satellite radios. The patent is a modification of an earlier patent, also held by Hindman, that applied to radios and CD players.

The lawsuit asserts that the patented technology, among other things, helps enable mobile features such as global positioning system, or GPS, location services, as well as crash- and theft-detection functions.

"The claim is without merit," says an XM representative. "Our system has nothing to do with the patent at issue."

Sirius declined to comment. Attorneys representing Keystone Autronics couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

On Monday, Sirius was up 4 cents at $3.28, and XM was up 23 cents to $13.39.