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Good Technology to pay Research In Motion royalties to settle patent suit
DAVID PADDON Canadian Press

Friday, March 26, 2004

TORONTO (CP) - Good Technology has agreed to pay royalties to Research In Motion under a licensing agreement that settles patent litigation between the two companies, RIM announced Friday.

The agreement with Good, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., calls for it to pay RIM a lump sum settlement during RIM's current first quarter, which ends in May, as well as ongoing quarterly royalties. Other details of the agreement were not disclosed by the maker of BlackBerry wireless e-mail products. RIM had filed a number of patent infringement suits against Good and other companies to defend its technology rights.

RIM previously announced similar licence agreements with other companies, including Handspring and Palm, that now pay a royalty for using technology developed by the Canadian company.

The dispute with Good was unrelated to a patent dispute brought against RIM by NTP Inc., which claims that several of its patents were infringed by the Waterloo, Ont.-based company.

NTP has won the preliminary rounds in a U.S. court battle with RIM, but a judge's ban on U.S. sales of the BlackBerry has been stayed while RIM appeals.

Research In Motion, which is considered by many analysts to be the leading supplier of wireless electronic-mail handsets and network services for the corporate market, filed its first suit against Good in June 2002.

Subsequent separate suits, including allegations of trademark infringement and false advertising, were filed by RIM against Good in July and September of that year.

Good, which also offers electronic messaging software and service that runs on a variety of devices and networks, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Research In Motion has been undergoing phenomenal growth recently despite the patent disputes with Good and NTP. Many analysts expect that at some point, the litigants will settle and the main question becomes how much it costs the loser.

RIM earned $16.3 million US in the three months and saw revenue more than double to $153.9 million in the fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 30, a dramatic reversal from the year-earlier loss of $92.8 million US.

It also predicted strong revenue growth for at least the next two quarters, rising to between $195 million US and $210 million US in the fourth quarter ended in February and to between $220 million US and $240 million US in the current quarter.

Those bullish comments have spurred RIM stock's price, which went from about $60 Cdn prior to the as $136.47 Cdn earlier this month.

RIM stock (TSX:RIM) closed Friday at $118 Cdn, down 28 cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange, prior to the announcement.

© Copyright 2004 The Canadian Press



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