** FILE ** The BlackBerry 7100t is displayed during the 3GSM World Congress 2005 in a Cannes, France file photo from Feb. 15, 2005. A federal judge ruled invalid Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2005, a $450 million settlement between a small patent holding firm and the maker of BlackBerry e-mail devices, Research in Motion Ltd. U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer's decision is a victory for NTP Inc., an Arlington, Va. company that maintains the technology behind the popular BlackBerry infringes on its patents.
BlackBerry Turning Sour
By Kirsten Thomas, 02.16.06
“Q” sours the BlackBerry market on handheld email devices. Early this week Motorola announced the release of “Q” a mobile emailing service and phone combination. The timing of Motorola’s “Q” release creates strong competition for BlackBerry, currently under legal pressure for patent infringement allegations.
Research in Motion Limited (RIM) the manufacturer and facilitator of BlackBerry devices and services, is in the midst of a patent litigation lawsuit with Network Technology Partners Inc. (NTP). NTP a Virginia based company in Arlington said that RIM’s BlackBerry email service technology infringed on several of their patents. NTP petitioned the court to shut down BlackBerry devices, services and sale nationwide.
In a press release issued by RIM on their company website, Jim Balsillie, Chairman and Co-CEO at RIM said “RIM remains pragmatic and reasonable in its willingness to enter into a settlement that would generously compensate NTP while protecting RIM’s business and partners.”
In 2003 NTP won a patent infringement ruling in federal court in Richmond,Va. against RIM. However the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which is working to resolve the patent disputes, during preliminary rulings in 2005 found NTP’s patents illegitimate.
The USPTO which reviewed the patents in question, issued non-final rejections for the five patents in question in the case. NTP response to the USPTO rulings is due when the companies go back to court on Feb. 24. A possible shut down could take place at the end of the month if NTP is successful.
RIM has found a workaround strategy to keep their service running, telling customers’ service will not be interrupted.
“Workarounds are a legitimate strategy that have been respected by the courts as a means to avoid infringement. In the years leading up to its public launch in 1999, BlackBerry was invented wholly independently of NTP’s patents and comprises a wide spectrum of designs and inventions that are outside the scope of NTP’s patents,” RIM said in their press release.
NTP request for a BlackBerry shut down will be a hard hit for U.S. government agencies. The U.S. Justice Department asked the federal judge hearing the case to cease any plans for a BlackBerry shut down. The government is asking for assurance that its estimated 200,000 employee’s in 138 agencies who use BlackBerry devices will not be affected by a BlackBerry service shutdown.
In the mean time RIM is keeping their distributors and customers informed via email updates, assureing them that service will not be interrupted and that announcements regarding needed updates will come at a later time.
