Replies to post #318678 on Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[clairesilv]

ZEEV - HANS - I jumped in at 28.45. Where do you see support for HANS - thinking of doubling - what would be a good level to do that?

[marketmaven]

BlackBerry maker loses round in court over patents
By Michelle Kessler, USA TODAY
Shares of Research In Motion (RIMM), maker of the popular BlackBerry e-mail devices, plummeted Wednesday after a judge ordered the company to stop selling BlackBerrys in the USA — then lifted the ban pending an appeal.

Got it? Love it? Careful with it, 'cause it could be a while before your next upgrade.


The shares fell up to 10% early — after the news spread — but recovered to post a 2.5% drop for the day.

RIM can sell BlackBerrys in the USA while it appeals the ruling that it violated wireless e-mail patents dating back to the early 1990s and held by another company.

The appeal could take years, analysts say. If RIM loses, "It's 'bye-bye, BlackBerry,' " says James Wallace, the lawyer leading the fight against RIM.

Analysts say that's unlikely. If it looks like RIM will lose its case, it will likely settle and pay licensing fees, says IDC analyst Alex Slawsby.

The federal judge ruled that Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM caused "irreparable harm" to small patent-holding company NTP.

NTP's 2-year-old lawsuit alleges that RIM's BlackBerry line and other products violate patents developed by a pager company in the early 1990s. NTP owns the patents now on behalf of some of the engineers who developed them.

If the judge's decision stands, RIM will face an injunction unless it strikes a deal and licenses the technology. RIM disputes the validity of the patents.

Still, the ruling late Tuesday unnerved Wall Street. Bear Stearns analyst Andy Neff lowered his rating on RIM to "underperform" from "peer perform," citing the ruling's "implications and uncertainty."

"NTP does have a good case," says Gartner analyst Todd Kort. "Otherwise, the court would have thrown it out by now."

Earlier in the week, RIM shares rose on rumors that Hewlett-Packard would buy the company. The fact that nothing happened could also have enticed investors to sell shares Wednesday. H-P is unlikely to buy RIM, in part because of its legal woes, Slawsby says.

RIM has already been ordered to pay NTP $54 million in damages and legal fees. It has not paid out any money, though the court has required it to put some funds in a special holding account.

While RIM appeals and keeps selling in the USA, the case is taking a toll on its profit. In its most recent quarter, RIM took a $7.5 million charge related to the lawsuit, contributing to an $8.2 million loss.

"If they could settle these lawsuits, they could become a profitable company," Kort says.

Intellectual property lawsuits are common in the technology industry. Software maker SCO, for one, is suing IBM over patents dating back to the 1960s.

RIM has had multiple lawsuits. It is suing handheld-software maker Good Technology for patent infringement and recently settled a lawsuit with PDA maker Handspring in 2002 over patents.

BlackBerry fans are notoriously loyal. "I can't live without it," says Tony Asnes of New York, who uses his BlackBerry for his Wall Street job. About 615,000 people subscribe to the service, RIM says.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2003-08-06-rim-shot_x.htm

[wecus]

I have two OAs in the market but got myself a 3rd pos @26.42, I could not resist. Further I have another bid in @25.37 in case they want to really fool around. - HANS

The numbers were quite spectacular IMO so I'm still with you for a new high soon.

TEVA should react differently as well BTW, their numbers were quite good as well and I consider recent drop as a buying opportunity. I'm already hanging in there though with one pos in the red and I don't want to double up on it