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jibi · 10-09-2005, 05:20 PM

Now, it honestly strikes me the wrong way that the patent office would deny these patents that RIM has allegedly infringed upon, however a U.S. appeals court would deny the motion to rehear the case.

...oh, and I just love how the injunction would not affect American government employees. bleh.

Quote:

OTTAWA, Oct. 7 - A court decision Friday renewed the possibility that service to BlackBerry wireless e-mail devices might be cut off for most users in the United States.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington rejected a request by Research in Motion, the Canadian company that makes the BlackBerry, to rehear its appeal of a patent infringement case brought by NTP Inc., the patent holder. A three-judge panel of the court ruled in August that Research in Motion had violated seven of NTP's patents.

As part of that litigation, NTP, whose only assets are wireless e-mail related patents, had been granted an injunction banning the sale of BlackBerry devices in the United States and forcing Research in Motion to stop providing e-mail services to all American customers except government account holders.

While the court declined Research in Motion's request for a complete rehearing by all 12 of its judges, it did order the panel of three judges to review some aspects of NTP's patent claims.

Kevin Anderson, a lawyer for NTP, said the company would now ask the court to apply the injunction to the patent claims that are no longer under review. Those patents, he added, are broad enough to prevent Research in Motion from continuing service in the United States, which accounts for about 70 percent of its revenue.

"The case is pretty much over," Mr. Anderson said.

Friday afternoon, however, Research in Motion said it would request that the court hold off on any action while it asks the Supreme Court for a review, although it acknowledged that such reviews are "uncommon" in patent cases.

"RIM continues to believe this case raises significant national and international issues warranting further appellate review," the company said.

Shares of Research in Motion hit a 52-week low of $64.55, down $2.42.

With the backing of the Canadian government, Research in Motion has argued in court that NTP's claims do not apply to BlackBerry software because it is held only on computers near its headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario. NTP does not hold any wireless e-mail patents in Canada. It is based in Annandale, Va.

MobileRC · 10-09-2005, 05:48 PM

If they successfully cut off American BB users I wonder how quickly you would see lawsuits and/or firebombings against NTP. I know if I had a company in the states that relied heavily on BB and with ROI could show the losses I would see if I lost BB, I wouldn't hesitate to look into suing NTP. If a lady stupid enough to spill hot coffee on herself then claim she didnt know it was hot and won a lawsuit against mcdicks then I dont think it would be the craziest idea.

MobileRC · 10-09-2005, 05:52 PM

and would the patent not be applicable to everyone regardless of Government association? I am not surprised the American Govt wouldnt allow their bb's to be taken away but I think thats a little unfair they can pick and choose who they want it to apply to. Either everyone using is infringing or no one is.

jibi · 10-09-2005, 06:54 PM

i agree MRC. however, if the USPTO rejected NTP's patents, i'm sure that this will sometime sooner or later simply blow over. i don't see how there can be a case against a company in which the basis of the lawsuit is rejected by the approving authority. call me optimistic, but it just doesn't seem to make sense.

...and if they try and place an injunction against the use of BlackBerry within the U.S., then RIM will have to shut off their communications with the carriers of the U.S. now, here's another thing to point out... the case is against RIM not the carriers. expect a lawsuit from that point, even if its simply a strategic lawsuit that pits carrier(s) vs RIM.

at the very least, i don't expect to see any sort of resolution for the next few years.

jibi · 10-11-2005, 12:29 AM

now i'm actually beginning to wonder if i did break the forum like Dawg suggested earlier on AIM... hmm. that was the last post on the forum before it crashed. *sigh*

RIMarkable · 10-11-2005, 12:44 AM

This is just my two cents but in my opinion, there is no way that an injunction will ever be enforced in the United States. Personally, I think the guilty verdicts on the 5 patents that RIM was found in violation of will be overturned now that the U.S. Patent Office has rejected them.

Even if RIM is still found guilty after another year or so of litigation and all their appeals and rehearings are exhausted, there is still no way that any court would enforce an injunction that would be as devistating to business processes as taking away mobile email. I am sure that if it came to that, some type of settlement arbitration would be mandated so that businesses wouldn't be adversely affected.

code7700 · 10-11-2005, 02:05 AM

Most likely, this will all wash out and RIM will pay a fine of some sort to NTP. The simple fact is, NTP isn't totally insane and will do their best to get a reasonable amount of money from RIM. As someone here said, NTP could very easily be hurt by lawsuits from corporate America. It takes very little money or energy to file a lawsuit against someone (NTP). It takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend yourself. Not fair. But that is how it works.

If every Fortune 500 company were to file suit against NTP (and they could very easily do so) NTP would spend so much money on legal fees they'd have to shut down. Not exactly a fair "trick" but many companies do it right now. Each Fortune 500 company can come up with their own seemly legitimate issues, and NTP could never fight off 500 lawsuits.

TheWastedYears · 10-11-2005, 10:35 AM

RIM has already said they've designed another method that would work, if push came to shove.

If NTP drags it on too long, and RIM implements this new technology, they're going to be hard pressed to get any money, now that their patents have been rejected.

conwawj · 10-11-2005, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWastedYears

RIM has already said they've designed another method that would work, if push came to shove.

If NTP drags it on too long, and RIM implements this new technology, they're going to be hard pressed to get any money, now that their patents have been rejected.

Do you have a link to an article that talks to this?

TheWastedYears · 10-11-2005, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conwawj

Do you have a link to an article that talks to this?

Unfortunately, no. It was in their statement several months ago. They didn't provide any details. They only said that they had alternatives to shutting down service.

FlemmingRiis · 10-11-2005, 10:53 AM

-hmm. that was the last post on the forum before it crashed. *sigh*

dont think the board crashed , from here it looked like the zone expired 24 hours ahead of its time, i could resolve it anyways but the expire wasnt until today.

oh well

stonent · 10-11-2005, 10:55 AM

Meh, just have it sent to the 9th circuit court of appeals. They'll overturn anything..

:eyeroll:

stonent · 10-11-2005, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jibi

...oh, and I just love how the injunction would not affect American government employees. bleh.

The DOD uses blackberries, that's why.

TheWastedYears · 10-11-2005, 11:01 AM

I can already see lawyers popping xxxxxx, gearing up for a class action suit: People vs. Federal Government.

Here's the real question: IF (and that's a big IF) RIM has to shut down service, what is are the chances of the various carriers letting us out of our multi-year contracts?

Dawg · 10-11-2005, 11:07 AM

yes but if its going to cut off to all US then the DOD is the US so one for all all for one. I am looking onto another phone just incase at least thats what i am telling my wife its for the new nextel i930 is the shizzle

TheWastedYears · 10-11-2005, 11:19 AM

We all know that the government doesn't have to adhere to the same rules as us mere mortals. If that were the case, every single President we've ever had would've been fired.

The interesting thing in this entire fiasco is that noone has addressed w/ any amount of detail what will become of the Blackberry users. That makes me believe that service disruption isn't likely.

KonTiki · 10-11-2005, 11:35 AM

Maybe NTP will step in like WonderDog and "save the day", . . . NOT. All they want is to get their hands on the moolah and then split.

dkmadrid · 10-11-2005, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by code7700

Most likely, this will all wash out and RIM will pay a fine of some sort to NTP. The simple fact is, NTP isn't totally insane and will do their best to get a reasonable amount of money from RIM.

I thought I had read a couple of months back that this case was settled for an amount in the $400 million range, then rejected by NTP. I guess I don't know the specifics, but $400 million sounds like a reasonable amount of money to me.

Dawg · 10-11-2005, 11:58 AM

Hadnt thought of that

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWastedYears

Here's the real question: IF (and that's a big IF) RIM has to shut down service, what is are the chances of the various carriers letting us out of our multi-year contracts?

NJBlackBerry · 10-11-2005, 01:12 PM

If NTP (blood suckers) shut down RIM (the good guys <sic>), then they get NOTHING. NTP does not make a competing product. They don't make anything. They are simply trying to extort more money from RIM. They agreed to $400mm US (which I believe is two trillion Canadian dollars) but want more.

There. I have pissed off lawyers, NTP fans, Good fans and Canadians in one paragraph.

Damn, I'm good

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RIM vs NTP - Round 12