BlackBerry: Still legal (for now)

So maybe you haven't been following every twist and turn of NTP's ongoing patent lawsuit against Research In Motion, but there's some good news and some bad news for all the Crackberryheadz out there (god, we did not just write that). A few months back NTP won their patent lawsuit against RIM and were granted an injunction that prevented RIM from selling, making, or servicing BlackBerrys here in the United States. Obviously sort of messed with RIM's main business, which, you know, consists of selling, making, and servicing BlackBerrys. RIM was able to save themselves from oblivion by immediately getting the injunction stayed pending appeal, and yesterday they got half of what they wanted. The US Court of Appeals vacated the injunction (which means RIM can keep selling BlackBerrys for right now), but also upheld an earlier court's ruling that RIM infringed on eleven of NTP's patents, so unless they can get NTP's patents overturned they're going to have to figure out some sort of licensing arrangement with them in order to keep doing business in this country.

[Tom @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM]

After having tried one of these useless turds out I still think that the name Dingleberry is more appropriate. :-)

[Grandpa @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM]

Hmmmm....what does NTP want? Money? Or the destruction of the evil overlord RIM?

I think they want money so something will be worked out. On the other hand RIM will be pwn3d and may "take their ball and go home" rather than sell out to NTP.

[Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM]

Umm, no offense, but RIM is a Canadian company, and has offices world-wide. I don't think that being locked out of Yank markets would relegate them to "oblivion."

[Clark Messer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM]

being locked out of Yank markets would relegate them to "oblivion."

The "yank" market is the one with all the money.

[JM @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM]

Clark speaks the truth. Im here at the university of waterloo, RIM is literally our next door neighbours and has many of our students working for them. It is true from what i hear at least, that the majority of blackberry devices are sold in the US. Not being able to market the device within America will make investors very cautious of them and the demand for their equity will fall fast. Both foreign and Canadian investors alike are still really shaky on Canadian technology companies with Nortel still not being "yesterdays news" Although their markets are very unique, RIM is going to bring back memories of Nortel in the eyes of ignorant investors, who do account for a significant amount of capital. However, in the companies defense, they have many intelligent people working for them and their investment in research and development is not to be ignored. Lets also not forget that they have been smelling a lawsuit for some time and have funds saved for the possibility of such a case. Im sure that a settlement is the most likely bet, in which case, royalties to investors are much better looking than scandal. In the end it really has little to do with the States itself, it has to do with those on Bay Street or trading on the NASDAQ. But im sure if a company in the states who has MIT as a neighbour wouldn't be so frightened, so why should canadians lose so much faith in a company that owes much of its success to our research and technology powerhouse? I mean, there must come a time when us Canadians finally appreciate our ability to create. Part of the technology might have been drawn on paper somewhere else in the world. But Im sure that if American companies that have screwed so many people over, from every country even their own, RIM certainly could do it too.