Briefs: Xerox Heads to Court

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has confirmed the validity of a Xerox Corp. software patent, clearing the way for the Stamford, Connecticut-based company to pursue a patent-infringement case against Santa Clara, California-based 3Com Corp. The lawsuit alleges that the handwriting-recognition software used in 3Com's Palm devices belongs to Xerox.

Ex-Baan CEO Hired

Just a week after quitting her job as CEO of Netherlands-based Baan Co., Mary Coleman surfaced as a managing director at Internet Capital Group Inc. in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Coleman will work in the company's San Francisco office.

Seagate Profits Slide

Falling prices in the disk-drive business hit Seagate Technology Inc., which posted US$30 million in profits for the period ended Dec. 31, compared with $104 million in the same period a year earlier. Including one-time charges, the Scotts Valley, California-based company reported that it lost $35 million on sales of $1.6 billion.

Short Takes

Austin, Texas-based Vignette Corp. is purchasing DataSage Inc. in Reading, Massachusetts, in a stock swap worth about $595 million. DataSage analyzes real-time purchase and click-stream data. Vignette profiles customers and provides other information for online relationship marketing. ... The Sage Group PLC, a U.K.-based accounting software vendor, said it has signed a deal to buy Best Software Inc. in Reston, Virginia, for $445 million in cash. Best Software makes Windows-based financial and human resources applications. ...

Primus Knowledge Solutions Inc., a Seattle-based e-commerce services and software provider, last week said it would merge with privately held 2order.com Inc. in Atlanta in an all-stock deal valued at about $90 million. 2order.com, once known as BT Squared Technologies Inc., provides software for personalizing sales over the Internet.