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RIM to pay $147 million after losing patent suit

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Jul 2012 11:53 User comments (5)

RIM to pay $147 million after losing patent suit Struggling smartphone maker RIM will have to pay $147 million in damages after losing a patent suit to Mformation Technologies.
The jury upheld claims that RIM violated patents taken out in 1999 by Mformation.

Most of the software involved relates to "software that allows companies to access employees' mobile phones remotely for upgrades, password changes or to delete data."

To get the $147 million, the judge in the case calculated the fine as $8 for every BlackBerry sold since 2008, when the claims were initially filed.

The case will also likely force RIM to pay royalties on future sales and international sales, as well.

"We believe [the patents have] been fundamental to the success of Research in Motion," added Amar Thakur for the plaintiffs. "Mformation created the mobile device management category in the late 1990s and was innovating in this area well before most of the market understood the fundamental importance of wireless mobility management."

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5 user comments

115.7.2012 12:17

Wasn't RIM already struggling as is. Could this be the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.

215.7.2012 21:29

The last article they had about Rim said they only had about $2 Billion left.Pretty soon they won't have any left at the rate they are going.

317.7.2012 14:39

I hate patents like these. The example above sounds like crap anyone would have thought up when you design a system.

Did this company actually create or contribute anything?

419.7.2012 14:36

mFormation isn't like the other patent trolls they do provide a suite of software some companies have been using for more than a decade.


That being said, these lawsuits are still a horrible plague. Unless they can prove that actual code was stolen to run software on RIM's devices the case should have been thrown out. Unfortunately this case looks like the judge just looked at the description of the patent and said "Yep, they did it first".

Patent laws need to be reformed to the way they originally were planned. You must show a physical, unique, object. And prove that you are able and willing to provide said object to the public/consumer.

520.7.2012 17:25

Looks like a couple bosses won't be getting their bonus. Should have been a banker.

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