Feds Enter Blackberry Fray

Rick Zeman writes "Blackberry addicted US Feds have entered into the patent dispute between Canadian company Research in Motion and US patent-holders NTP. From the article: 'The Justice Department has filed a legal brief in a patent dispute, asking a federal court to delay any immediate shutdown of the popular wireless e-mail system to ensure that state and federal workers can continue to use their devices.' Apparently 10% of US Blackberry users are government users."

Comments

US Government dependence of foreign corporation

[Tontoman]

One odd element of this dispute is this: Canada has also filed amicus brief in the case. http://patentlaw.typepad.com/patent/2005/01/canada _challeng.html Canada argues that essential part of their system, the email relay operation, is located entirely in Canada. Therefore US government is saying they have put a foreign corporation (Blackberry LTD) in the critical path of essential government communication.

Re:US Government dependence of foreign corporation

[Doc Ruby]

The point is in the title: the US government is dependent on a foreign corporation for an essential infrastructure. That fact isn't "xenophobic", in the perjorative sense, just in the real sense of identifying the risk and threat from foreigners, which is completely established by millennia of history.

Canada is our ally, and a reasonable partner - usually more reasonable than we are. But a national security that's dependent on a foreign power is insecure. Exceptions can't be made on any basis, even including a hypothetical exclusive source for a useful technology. And Blackberry isn't the exclusive source for pushed mobile email - just the most popular, and maybe the easiest. This dimension to the conflict shows the security requirements of ensuring American tech is at the forefront. Even if just by ensuring an American company, entirely governed by the American government, has a license from the foreign supplier, and the means to produce independently if suddenly cut off. Of course, it also shows how the Feds mismanage national security, prioritizing fear and $BILLIONS in expenses, without identifying actual risks.

Re:US Government dependence of foreign corporation

[jmcharry]

There is a fairly long history of US dependence on Canada in national security matters. The DEW line springs to mind. Also, Northern Telecom supplied a fairly large number of military telephone switches and even some crypto gear. A fair amount of equipment used in our space program is of Canadian design. It seems to me government employees using a COTS communication device supplied by them is a much smaller risk. If the government isn't going to use things of foreign manufacture, it is likely to be much worse off considering the large amount of technological equipment that is only manufactured overseas.

Beyond that, Canada is probably the lowest risk non US supplier one can imagine. They are independent, and there are occasional squabbles, usually over arcane trade issues, but they are so like us and so tied to us economically and culturally it is hard to imagine a major meltdown that would be a serious impediment to US national security. On the other hand, the last time we did get into a shooting war with them, they came down and burned the White House.

Ironic

[external400kdiskette]

that the governments broken patent system has come back to bite them. probably better they get the least desirable outcome in this case which may highlight the need for patent reform better when it's hurting them.

No special treatment for government

[Anonymous Coward]

Let them suffer from their own patent laws.

It's the only way that things would get changed for the people.

In fact, I don't see why government should enjoy any special rights. Special rights distances them from the people they govern. Because they don't experience any real-life issues, they get out of touch and they don't realise when legislation and so on will actively affect the people they represent. It is best for standard government practices (not national security, etc) to have the same restrictions in law as the common citizen.

maybe this is a really good thing

[tehwebguy]

sometimes it seems no one gives a crap about patent reform but us nerds, but now that some patent cases are hurting the government, maybe they will begin to listen?