Supreme Court Won't Hear BlackBerry Case

[saraphen]

WASHINGTON - Millions of BlackBerry users can now turn their attention back to a Richmond, Va., federal court where the fate of the popular wireless e-mail device may be decided.

After the Supreme Court chose on Monday not to intervene in the case, the resolution of the long-running battle over patents for the handheld device is up to U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer.

Although the judge could impose an injunction and block BlackBerry use among many of its estimated 3 million owners in the United States, many analysts expect Research In Motion Ltd., the device's maker, to strike a deal with the patent-holder or introduce changes to work around the patents.

At issue was how U.S. law applies to technology that is used in a foreign country and allegedly infringes on the intellectual property rights of a patent-holder in the United States.

RIM, a Canadian company, had contended it cannot be held liable for patent infringement because its main relay station for e-mail and data transmission is located in Waterloo, Ontario, outside U.S. borders.

But a federal appeals court had found that the Canadian company had infringed on the patents held by NTP because customers use the BlackBerry inside U.S. borders. The lower court said it did not matter where the relay station is located.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060123/...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

This case will probably set a precedent for patent law in the internet space.

Anybody on this board use a Blackberry?

[jacqui]

I don't have a Blackberry, I have a sidekick. I am curious as to how this will play out.
I mean this is a multi-million dollar business and they are just going to possible shut it down? I really don't understand this.

[DBlack]

One of the corps I do work for is scrambling to provide another solution as this could mean 'lights out' in their notification system. Blackberrys are used heavily by I.T. support departments.

[saraphen]

Agreement ends BlackBerry battle

NEW YORK (AP) -- The maker of the BlackBerry e-mail device Friday said it settled its long-running patent dispute with a small Virginia-based firm, averting a possible court-ordered shutdown of the BlackBerry system and a disruption of wireless service for millions of users.

Research In Motion Ltd. has paid NTP Inc. $612.5 million in a "full and final settlement of all claims," the companies said.

James Balsillie, RIM's co-chief executive, said the company was "taking one for the team," sparing its customers and partners the uncertainty of litigation.

"We're happy to do that to support the team, but do we feel good about it? No," Balsillie said.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/BUSINESS/03/...ion=cnn_latest

That's quite a huge settlement. Blackberry users can breathe a sigh of relief now.