hmm. so does this explain the activity in rimm??
Monday, June 7, 2004
Case may pluck BlackBerries from U.S.
Canadian computer company stands to lose biggest market if patent ruling upheld
By TERESA RIORDAN
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Is it really possible that Bill Gates, Pamela Anderson and phalanxes of stockbrokers, lawyers and congressional staff members will have to give up one of their most treasured possessions: their BlackBerries?
Today in Washington, judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit are scheduled to ponder whether Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of the much-coveted BlackBerry hand-held wireless e-mail device, should be barred from business in the United States. At issue is who has the patent for the BlackBerry's technology.
In August, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District, in Richmond, Va., dealt RIM a stunning blow, ordering the company to pay NTP, which sued RIM for patent infringement, $53.7 million in damages and granting an injunction to prevent RIM from making, selling or servicing the devices in the United States.
The injunction was stayed, pending RIM's appeal now before the Federal Circuit, the nation's highest patent court, which is supposed to hear arguments today.
RIM is "engaging in 'bet your company' litigation," said Jim Wallace, a lawyer representing NTP. "What's at stake is the entire company. If you look at their annual reports, their core business is BlackBerries in the United States."
Wallace contended that if the injunction were upheld, NTP would stand to gain royalties owed by RIM, even though it would not get future royalties for the simple reason that RIM would not be producing or servicing BlackBerries. Since interest and legal fees are folded in, he said, the award so far is worth upward of $100 million.
The district court ordered that the two sides meet and try to formulate a royalty arrangement, but no settlement has been reached.
"My guess is that rather than an injunction, NTP would rather have ongoing royalties," said Marc Kaufman, a patent lawyer with Nixon Peabody in Washington.
"The time you really want an injunction is when you have a competing business."
