RIM Loses NTP Case, To Pay $53 Million

theodp writes "A judge has ruled in favor of holding company NTP in its patent-infringement case against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, awarding monetary damages and fees of $53.7 million and granting an injunction preventing RIM from making, using, or offering to sell handhelds, services or software in the U.S. until the date of expiration of NTP's patents, the latest of which is May 20, 2012. The court then stayed that injunction, pending an appeal by the Canadian company."

Comments

Lots of info...but nothing we couldn't figure out.

[James A. A. Joyce]

RIM said in a statement that it was gratified that the judge did not make the injunction take effect immediately. ...

"It doesn't do NTP any good to shut RIM down, because its business is based on licensing...we believe that RIM will settle at some nominal licensing rate and while we view this as a short-term negative...the long-term effects will be minimal."

In its earnings reports, RIM has been stating two sets of results, depending on the outcome of the infringement case. A negative ruling would bite into RIM's financial results."

It really does seem to me that the article is stating the obvious quite a bit here. Of course a ruling against a company's practice is going to reduce its financial results. Of course reasonable licensing will keep a company in business, and of course slight fluctuations in it will only have short-term effects. The only way this article would give you new information is if you were completely unfamiliar with the case. Is it just me or are the articles on "news.com.com" becoming more and more like fluff?