While Palm is appealing an earlier federal court ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York has ordered the handheld maker and its former parent 3COM to post a $50-million bond. However, the court turned down Xerox’s request that sales of Palm handhelds be prohibited until the case is settled, arguing that Xerox would not be harmed if sales continued.

The bond "will ensure that Xerox is able to collect at least some, if not all, of the damages it will suffer as a result of 3Com’s infringement during the appeal period," U.S. District Judge Michael Telesca said.

However, Palm is determined to pursue the appeal process vigorously, according to Palm’s chairman and CEO Eric Benhamou. "We intend to pursue our appeal vigorously and have excellent arguments to support our view. For thousands of years, people have been creating writing symbols. Xerox doesn’t own the alphabet," he said.

In April 1997, Xerox launched the patent suit against U.S. Robotics, which then owned the Palm handheld, and later 3COM when it bought U.S. Robotics. Xerox claims its patent for its handwriting technology, known as Unistrokes, was infringed on by Palm’s Graffiti handwriting recognition language.

Regardless of the outcome of Palm’s appeal, the case will still have to go to trial court for final disposition and a determination of charges.