Apple, others license Klausner voicemail pate

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Klausner Technologies Inc said on Monday that Apple Inc, eBay Inc and AT&T Inc have agreed to license its "visual voicemail" technology and settled a lawsuit against them.

Privately held Klausner did not disclose the financial details of the settlements or licensing deals, but said it was also in discussions with Comcast Corp and Cablevision Systems Corp about using the technology.

"The patent litigation with Apple has been settled. The patents have been licensed to Apple," company founder Judah Klausner told Reuters.

Separate settlements and licensing deals had been reached with AT&T, the U.S. carrier for Apple's iPhone, and with eBay and its Skype Web-cased calling service, Klausner said.

Klausner sued the companies for $360 million in damages and future royalties last December for violating its patents on technology that sends visual alerts to computers or mobile telephones when a user has a voice message and allows users to selectively retrieve messages.

Existing licensees of the technology include Internet telephone company Vonage Holdings Corp and U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp.