Research In Motion and Motorola duel in lawsuits
BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and rival Motorola (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) have sued each other over what they say are patent infringements for technology used in their mobile phones.RIM alleges that Motorola is infringing on the Canadian company’s patents and demanding “exorbitant” licensing fees, according to court documents.
The civil action, filed on Friday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges that Motorola infringed on a number of patents held by RIM.
In addition, RIM alleges that Motorola “is demanding exorbitant royalties…for patents that Motorola claims are essential to various standards for mobile wireless telecommunications and wireless computing that RIM practices.”
This includes technology that allows mobile telephone handset users to use Wi-Fi, RIM said.
At the same time, Motorola is refusing to acknowledge or pay royalties for certain patents held by RIM, the BlackBerry-maker said.
Motorola refuted RIM’s claims and said it had filed two lawsuits over the weekend against the Canadian company in Texas and Delaware. Motorola is challenging RIM’s patents and argues that RIM is infringing on certain Motorola patents.
“We have not yet reviewed the complaint, but based on our understanding of the matter, we believe that their claims are entirely without merit and Motorola intends to vigorously defend itself,” Motorola said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.
Motorola added that it permits others to use its technology if it deems it appropriate and it is properly compensated.
“In this instance, our agreement with RIM expired and we have been unable to reach a suitable agreement going forward,” Motorola said.
None of the allegations from either company has been proved in court.
Last month, Motorola said it was beginning a strategic review that could lead to the separation of its loss-making mobile devices unit. Analysts took that to mean Motorola was shopping around its handset business.
RIM’s lawsuit claims that Motorola’s response to the “declining fortunes” of its own handset business can been seen in dramatic increases in royalties being charged to RIM.
RIM faced problems of its own earlier this month when a three-hour service outage on its network left subscribers across the Americas with spotty or no access to wireless e-mail.
RIM’s worldwide subscriber base of about 12 million includes business executives, politicians and professionals who rely on the BlackBerry to send secure e-mails.
BlackBerry has been expanding from its mainstay enterprise market into the consumer sector with sleeker handsets that offer a range of services in addition to e-mail.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 12:17 am and is filed under Mobile's. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
