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Blackberry Future Uncertain

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the up-in-the-air dept.

Dave White writes "Research In Motion and NTP have failed to reach a settlement in the Blackberry case. It looks like the door has been opened for NTP to be granted an injunction blocking the sales of Blackberry wireless messaging devices in the US. The New York Times (free registration yadda yadda) has the scoop on this interesting development."

3 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. Text from a diff source by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    RIM and NTP Reach An Impasse

    Research In Motion said it has reached an impasse with NTP Inc. in finalizing a patent dispute settlement and would take court action.

    The two sides had reached a settlement in March with RIM agreeing to pay $450 million to NTP to settle the patent litigation. In return, RIM was granted an unfettered right to continue its BlackBerry-related business without further interference from NTP or its patents. "We are extremely disappointed and I am personally extremely disappointed that this matter which we believed was resolved has been reopened by NTP," Jim Balsillie, RIM chairman and chief executive, said in a conference call.

    He also emphasized the terms agreed to in March "were clear and unambiguous. "For nearly three months now, RIM has been working in good faith to complete the process and obtain the final license and settlement documents," Balsillie said. According to RIM, NTP refuses to honor its obligations under the term sheet and finalize the definitive documents. Calls to NTP went unanswered. RIM said while it is unsure of the outcome of the court's decision, it is reviewing any potential accounting implications and has already set aside and will continue holding on to the funds to make the settlement payment.

  2. Re:This is actually a Good Thing(tm) by saitoh · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly." -- Abraham Lincoln

    always wondered how well that would work...

    --
    We don't need an "overrated" so much as we need a "you completely missed the parent's point, dumbass..."
  3. Sad Sad Sad by Rac3r5 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is a very very sad case.

    Why in the world is a company like NTP even allowed to exist. Why are ppl given patents before even coming up with a product.

    I think what NTP has done/is currently doing is very wrong. Why should a company like NTP that just dreams up ideas and does nothing to actually develop them being given patents? They do very little to foster innovation. They do very little to employ people. They pretty much do jack diddly squat.

    This is wrong in so many ways.
    There are 3 other parties that are also responsible for the BS. The patent office that actually gave them the patent (flawed patent system), the corrupt law firm representing the case, and the Judge who ruled on this case and cannot see right from wrong.