NEWS
February 13th could be a black day for BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM). On that day NTP will file an injunction to bar the BlackBerry from being sold by RIM in the United States. Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO of RIM, downplayed the chance that an injunction against the BlackBerry would be successful. The February 13th court date is set to review a jury award to NTP for US$23.1 million as a result of a lawsuit the company filed against RIM over its use of allegedly patented wireless e-mail technology found in the BlackBerry handheld. RIM plans to appeal the decision in its entirety, stating that the "jury verdict was wrong as both a matter of law and fact. We firmly believe that the jury verdict was unduly prejudiced by errors in the Court's pre-trial and trial rulings."

RIM has been vigorous in defending its own patents in lawsuits it has filed against companies including Good Technology and Handspring (see our previous coverage). RIM's lawsuit against Handspring was later settled, resulting in Handspring licensing RIM's keyboard technology for use in its Treo handhelds. Palm followed Handspring's lead and also licensed RIM's keyboard technology in an effort to avoid future litigation (see our previous coverage).

Read more on this topic in the IDG News Service article and at National Post. You can also read RIM's official response to the ruling. Check out our reviews of the original BlackBerry and the BlackBerry 957.

BRIAN'S OPINION
This verdict is quite a blow to Research In Motion, but an injunction against RIM to stop selling the BlackBerry would be devastating. I have to agree with Balsillie in his assessment that an injunction of that magnitude would be unlikely. The US$23.1 million dollar settlement could also be overturned in February. After all, anything can happen in a jury trial, and it is really not until an appellate court gets the case that the legality of NTP's claim is truly measured.

I am sure that Handspring and Good Technology, companies that have felt RIM’s legal wrath in the past, are happy to see RIM get a little taste of its own medicine. An interesting thing to note about NTP is that it has no commercial operations at all. It is simply a holding company that has the patents. Needless to say, owning and defending patents could easily be a source of revenue for a company. As it relates to this case it seems that type of business structure may be profitable.

Too bad I couldn't have come up with a patent on an easier way to use the bathroom. I forgot IBM already did--see our previous coverage.

USER COMMENTS 26 comment(s)

RAMBus, Part Deux (8:45am EST Tue Nov 26 2002) Wonderful. Another company that doesn't actually do anything, but files patents on things that they never intend to make. Doesn't patent law require you to actually MAKE the thing you patent? If not, then I'm gonna patent all the things they haven't figured out how to do yet and wait till they are invented. Then I'll be RICH baby! - by AAAIGH

rim jobbed (9:27am EST Tue Nov 26 2002) :) - by yes

No (9:40am EST Tue Nov 26 2002) Patent laws just allow you to reserver an idea or concept, you don't actually ever have to make or produce the concept. Which I think should be changed. It is like web squatting, when people buy a domain name they know someone else wants, but don't actually produce anything meaningful with the domain name. I think NTP is the dumbest group of people alive. They settled for 23 million, but if they had a brain cell to share among them, they could have licenced the technology and gotten a hell of a lot more by encouraging the selling of BlackBerry online. But, there is a whole wide world out their, and even if RIM can't sell their products in the states (only the ones that use this technology), there are billions of people around the world that can be potential customers. BTW, I am taking out a patent on the process of suing people for patent infringement. - by Topher

RE: Topher (9:50am EST Tue Nov 26 2002) Can't do it. There's prior art. Lots of it. LOTS AND LOTS of it. :) Anyway, this is just the next wave in businesses trying to get money for nothing. We had the dot-com bubble, where everyone thought they could get rich by doing nothing other than calling themselves an "Internet Company" (and many did). Now they want to get rich off of claiming they own everyone's ideas. Eventually, patent laws will be modified, and business-types will find yet another way to make loads of money off of not doing any actual work. - by Pond Scum

Made it happen (9:57am EST Tue Nov 26 2002) Patent law was intended to keep your competitors from stealing your idea or technology while you were working to bring it to practice or market. Blackberry made it happen. Screw NTP. Where do I sign up for the next jury. - by RCAman

Money for nothing??? (10:31am EST Tue Nov 26 2002) If only the ones that can make the final product can patetnt something we will live in a miserable world. Imagine you have a great idea, but no one want give you the money to start, but a big company (like micro$oft) see your idea (not patented yet because you can make it), it makes a cheap prototype and get the patent, is that fair???. I think the way patents works is not perfect but gives some oportonities to brillant futuristics minds and can´t get the money to develop thats ideas because they look useless in the present time. To the first post, go ahead friend start inventing stuff, maybe one day you will get some money too. - by inventor

HA HA (11:06am EST Tue Nov 26 2002) What goes around, comes around. I hope RIM is banned for thinking their thumboard is patented. Remember, someone also has a patent for swinging on a swing. - by dd

domain names (11:10am EST Tue Nov 26 2002) Go to www.abit.com and see what site you end up on - by Cartman

NTP are a group of slimey scumbags (12:34pm EST Tue Nov 26 2002) NTP is a group of lawyers that buys up patents and then sues whoever they think might be infringing on their intellectual property. They do not produce anything... they simpley sue other hard workers to make money. I hope that RIM prevails in this case...it would be a shame for such a company to be brought down by a few dirtbag lawyers. - by Chips

nextel.. (4:55pm EST Tue Nov 26 2002) wonder if the new nextel blackberry is goin to be canceled as well? - by wirm

Okay, so... (7:04pm EST Tue Nov 26 2002) kill Blackberry and use Wi-Fi! - by UrGeek

The good, the bad and the ugly. (8:12pm EST Tue Nov 26 2002) The good thing about patents is that they protect your idea from being stollen by somebody else. Suppose you invent something, don't have the necessary money to "make it happen" yet, but somebody else starts selling your product. Thank God for patents, right? The bad thing about patents is that many just get filed, shelved and put away quietly by people and companies for the sole purpose of an investment. Persoanlly I find that very unAmerican. It is an American's born right to invent an idea, work hard at making it work , sell the product and sit back and count your money. To waste good ideas just to sue another company is just plain ...unAmerican. The ugly thing about this case is that the patent may have been invented by a person, sold to this holding company who wangted to sue somebody and make their money that way. It's legal, it's their right to do so, but it is unAmerican, destructive and a terrible waste. Had RIM been an American company I'd really be pissed. They are Canadian so, well, dang, why not keep the profits here in the US...right? It's still a waste. Some of my best friends are canadian. - by DrLogik

Patents (3:17am EST Wed Nov 27 2002) It doesn't matter whether NTP actually files for patents themselves or not, patents are simply an asset, to be bought and sold. That this patent wasn't originally in NTP's name is irrelevent the fact is, someone else had the idea before RIM, which is tough on RIM. I like the bit about this practice being unAmerican (I'm British!). The fact is, this practice has always been used far more widely in the US than anywhere else, and no doubt will continue to be... - by ian chapple

RE: UnAmerican (3:39am EST Wed Nov 27 2002) If it is so UnAmerican, why is it used by so many American companies to make (steel) money from others. There is a moral argument for Patents, but most of these cases have little to do with it. The government should change the legislation to correct this, but there is not much chance of that. - by Zuber

Patents (5:22am EST Wed Nov 27 2002) Patents are great, but some are worded so vaguely that they can be applied to things it was never supposed to be applied to. - by SteveB

Patents are rich peoples instruments (6:55am EST Wed Nov 27 2002) It seems that American based companies can't sell without suing somebody... The american law system is only for the rich Americans all other people can screw themselfs if up to the companies and the stealing class... - by Bassie.

Patents Bad?? (10:26am EST Wed Nov 27 2002) Patents are not bad! Patents protect people from getting ideas stollen. To me this is no more "unAmerican" than RIM doing this same thing to Handspring! If you ask me RIM has been doing this for years and I am glad to see it backfire on them. - by Dewain

RIM's litigious. Hope they choke (1:08pm EST Wed Nov 27 2002) Well, I'm just glad to see them get a taste of their owne medicine. I can't even believe they tried to claim the patent on the qwerty thumb keyboard. Motorola and Sharp were making neerly identical devices waaaaaay before RIM even existed. The concept is ubiquitous and I think they are simply ridiculous. This is nothing more than instant karma. - by Grendelthing

RIM (6:42pm EST Wed Nov 27 2002) The NTP patent applies to any company sending email over a wireless medium which just about applies to everyone. Didn't Marconi do the same thing with morse code 100 years ago. I can't believe they have any worthy of the name invention and the courts will see it the same way once we get beyond virginian jury trials. - by seethelight

Spell-checker (8:27am EST Fri Nov 29 2002) Please. Even the Blackberry has it! - by Spelling BB Champ

re: Money for nothing??? (3:01pm EST Fri Nov 29 2002) inventor said "I think the way patents works is not perfect but gives some oportonities to brillant futuristics minds and can´t get the money to develop thats ideas because they look useless in the present time" That's true, but to obtain a patent takes thousands of dollars as well. So if you're a Regular Joe with a great idea, you're still out of luck unless you have a large amount of discretionary income. Of course you can sell your idea to a holding company for $200 to $1,000 , but they're still the ones who will come out on top. - by aDarkling

common sense (6:23pm EST Fri Nov 29 2002) It seems to be non-obvious to apply common sense to the evaluation of patents Therefore I will file a patent application for a process to improve this: 'Common Sense Technology: Improving Patent Eavluation'. Once approved I will license this break-through technology to the US patent office for US$1.00 for each patent filed. - by SueMe

blackBerry viability at this time? (9:46pm EST Fri Aug 08 2003) IT at our company is touting BlackBerry. Will that wind up biting them? What is the current (Aug. '03) status and or result of the NTP lawsuit? - by Sic O'Phant

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