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RIM Announces Workaround in NTP Case
Justin Michael writes "RIM announces they have a software solution in the event that the courts rules in favor of NTP. The fix is called their multi-mode edition. Customers are being told that they do not need to take action yet, but would need to install the multi-mode edition on both servers and handhelds." A Reuters article also covers the announcement. From that article: "The company said it will soon begin shipping handsets with the software update in a dormant mode. It will make the update available at www.blackberry.com/workaround at a later, but as yet unspecified, date. RIM said the changes would require software updates, but the new system will deliver the same functions and performance."
Just when you thought you were safe, another patent was approved:
Patent 6666666:
Title: WEW (Wireless Email Workaround)
Abstract: A method of using wireless email in another fashion different than the original infringing one.
What is claimed:
1. Send Email Differently
2. The method of claim (1) used to "workaround" another method.
This one is so generic it must be airtight.
Proof by very large bribes. QED.
I guess their employees won't be losing their RIM jobs after all.
Don't worry, we are already working on a workaround to the workaround, it is tenatively called 'Circle Work'
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
Maybe i'm wrong, but i could have sworn they (RIM) came out with this information several weeks ago...
Does anyone else remember seeing this elsewhere?
RIM said the changes would require software updates, but the new system will deliver the same functions and performance.
If that's the case, why haven't they switched already?
www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
I was really hoping that this patent dispute would destroy the company -- not because I don't like RIM, but because it'll take something that drastic to get the government's head out of it's ass and notice how fucked up our patent situation is.
Sigh -- I guess we'll just continue on riding the status quo to oblivion, then...
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Until RIM crushes those patent trolls. Without giving them a dime.
...a system for wasting the time of large companies (and putting small ones out of business).
Hey, maybe I should patent that!
With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
We're sorry but we have the Patent to that technology as well. See you in court again.
The algorithm does NOT multiply by 2, as stated in the patent. It multiplies by 3, and then substracts the original! As you can see, it's A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ALGORITHM!
That's not what they're saying, though. They're saying that your car's engine might stop working, but if it does they'll replace it immediately, at no cost to you, with practically no effort on your end, with an engine that is guaranteed to not suffer the same problems. That doesn't seem so bad, especially when the original engine's dying is the fault of a stupid patent system.
Whew. That was close.
Slashdot Patriotism: We Support our Dupes!
It looked pretty bleak for RIM there for a bit, but out of no where they got a second wind, stood up and muttered something about the fight not being over. They then sucker punched the patent holder by using political pressure (not merits) to get the last patent tossed. And then, while the other company was writhing around on the ground, RIM whipped it out and started pissing on them. Sure, they could have avoided the fight all together by just applying this patch ages ago, but where's the fun in that?
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
Sorry, I just patented the Workaround(tm) last week.
No effort? How is updating every Blackberry Enterprise Server and every Blackberry handheld little or no effort? I guess you have never worked in IT because I can tell you having a forced, unplanned upgrade to a major "mission critical" system like the crackberry network is not going to be easy or fun.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
RIM's other markets were never at risk. RIM isn't even based in the US anyhow. They're based in Waterloo, Canada, IIRC. And we don't seem to have as broken a patent system as the US does.
The "article" seems to indicate that the changes are to the backend only, and absolutely nothing will change for the user. Everything is identical in the GUI and usage. So this should be a kick in the pants for NTP. NTP now has two options:
1) Settle for a paltry amount, far less than what they could have accepted before.
2) Press forward to get an injunction, and have the case die when RIM uses the workaround, without NTP seeing a dime.
All of NTP's patents (All of them now) have now been invalidated (at least preliminarily), and even if NTP succeeds in getting an injunction, those invalid patents won't even apply anymore. NTP doesn't exactly have a strong case anymore, and they have to know it.
Of course, NTP didn't stop when the US government stepped in to warn that an injunction would compromise the nation's security, so I'm pretty sure they fall into the evil-but-stupid category that is too both too evil to abandon the case, and too stupid to realize it is a lost cause.
It would be awesome if RIM could not only beat NTP on the patent issue, but go back at them and sue for damage done to their image and stock.
I bet the guys at NTP are slapping their forehead, saying "DOH!", and thinking
'Ya know.. we probably should have settled for boatloads of money when he had
the chance'.
This C|Net article is dated June 16 of 2005
This slashdot blurb shows a link to this on Jan 27, 2006 and links to this InformationWeek article stating a workaround.
This is just RIM wanting to quell some fears about being shut down. Execs wild eyed clutching their blackberries worring if they will be cut off is not what RIM wants.
Procrastinating life a way at a rapid rate of speed.
I know many here are siding with RIM "by default" because of some philosophical kinship with those who are fighting against patents or whatever, but everything I have read about this case says that RIM have been complete asshats in all of this. On several occasions they had the opportunity to settle for far less money, and they kept escalating and escalating the situation. If you dislike patents, fine - argue agains the patent system in general. But given that it is the law /and that RIM had more than adequate opportunity to get out of it in some reasonable form/ i sure as hope they come crashing down hard. Maybe not hard enough that their subscribers feel it, but hard enough. Remember folks- be it based in some sleepy backwater or not, they are a megacorporation that have been acting like they are above the rules of the game.
3*3*3 is 3^3, not 3*3.
3*2=6 3*3-3=6
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
I also submitted this story, and included a quote on the part I found funniest (from the Yahoo! story in my submission).
RIM said it has filed applications for a patent for its workaround, part of a software update called BlackBerry Multi-Mode Edition.
To answer a couple of other posted questions:
RIM, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, said it has developed and tested software workaround designs for all BlackBerry handsets operating in the United States.
And...
The company said it will soon begin shipping handsets with the software update in a dormant mode. It will make the update available at www.blackberry.com/workaround at a later, but as yet unspecified, date.
Sounds easier (and cheaper) than replacing your entire blackberry network with something new.
The main reason RIM lost the original case is because they created false evidence to try to demonstrate prior art. However, they were caught trying to pull this off in the courtroom. Nothing says "I'm breaking the law and trying to get away with it" like perjury.
You are reading a copy of my copyrighted post.
Well, there's nothing quite like a Blackberry to switch to. There are some devices that can be tweaked to get a Blackberry-esque experience, but it isn't the same.
The closest thing will be the new Windows Mobile 5 devices, but they aren't really out yet. So RIM could have lost a lot of customers, but the competition just wasn't positioned in time.
You are not a Crackberry addict.
Huh? All he said was:
(N * 2) = ((N * 3) - N)
Which I'm pretty sure works for all N. (Maybe there are some that it doesn't, but it's right after lunch and I don't feel like thinking about it right now.) It's just factoring out N from 3N.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
I can see the job posting on Craigslist:
"Exciting Opportunity! Several temp positions available at XX Company. Assist in rollout of new software on the Crackberry platform. Must be able to thumb type 35wpm. Experience recommended, crackberry addicts need not apply."
Seriously though, I can see temps being brought into major companies across the US to take these suckers and place them on a cradle and update - rinse and repeat for 8 hours a day.
The "article" seems to indicate that the changes are to the backend only, and absolutely nothing will change for the user.
Although existing users will have to install the workaround and as most of us know that can be quite a technical issue for some.
You are all a bunch of idots.
No, no, no.
If NTP wins, they get damages based on RIM's past infringement. Although RIM can prevent another suit by using a workaround, they can't get out of their past infringement.
Am I the only one who eagerly opened up this thread to see how this relates to the Network Time Protocol?
I went -1 and searched for it in vain. I for one am seriously tired of these new jack-ass companies starting to recycle already well established TLAs. What's next? "Sony faces TCP inc. in court over patent infringement"?
1 Earth is warming, 2 It's us, 3 it's royally bad, 4 we need to take action NOW
Completely different at the bottom but completely the same at the top, huh?
It occurs to me that this could be bollocks, an empty attempt to scare away NTP with a "Yeah, you'll maybe win, and then you'll have wasted all that time and money for nothing."
There doesn't seem to be any detail on what the actual new technology is (I presume it is, you know, proprietary, or something. And stuff.).
Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
How can RIM be required to pay damages for invalid patents?
Since RIM can't be charged ongoing royalties for a patent they no longer infringe, and since they can't be ordered to shut down a service that no longer violates patents, the only question that remains is how much lump sum they pay out, if any.
RIM can sustain such a thing. A settlement or damages payment isn't a big deal. So long as it doesn't bankrupt RIM, they take the hit and move on. A single amount of money can be replaced. It isn't nearly so damaging as having their service shut down or paying ongoing royalties.
So, from RIM's perspective, the big danger should be over. From NTP's perspective, I suppose they can still try to get some cash out of the deal, but the patents being ruled invalid, if that holds, that'd put a damper on damages. I mean, why pay damages for violating patents that are invalid?
I'm probably biased against NTP for the sole reason that I hate patent-holding companies. I see them as parasites that lurk around waiting to strike. They don't do anything productive, don't produce any products. They just sit around, wait for somebody to do the actual hard work, and then try to step in and claim a share. NTP wrote some stuff down on a piece of paper and never did anything with it. RIM came up with the same thing and spent the time and effort to turn it into a working product. If NTP actually produced a competing product, I'd feel for them. But as a patent holding company, they're really the ones stealing other peoples' work, since they don't put any effort into developing the product they want royalties for.
Wrong! They'd still be on the hook of about a billion dollars if the judge ruled against them later this month. The NTP patent was legal and binding, at the time RIM ignored it, were warned and' refused to pay. Nothing has changed that situation.
We live in a world of automated updates. If RIM doesn't have an effective update solution in place, that was rather shortsited.
If they don't, I would imagine that any user could simply take their BlackBerry back to their cellular provider to have them apply the update to keep it working. Since the update would be required, the carrier would probably be obligated to provide the service at no cost.
If the patents are ruled invalid, there shouldn't be any past infringement. Invalid means they were never valid in the first place. If the US legal system doesn't recognize that, it needs some updates itself.
Why doesnt RIM stop fighting NTP and just buy them? Wouldnt that make their life easier?
Procrastinating life a way at a rapid rate of speed.
A patent being invalid would mean that it never was valid. Requiring a company to pay damages for what the patent office admits was their mistake doesn't make any sense.
I don't see how ours can be any less broken. In my last 11 years of co-op and full-time high tech employment, I've always heard that a Canadian company simply applies for the US patents first, gets them (of course), and then applies for the Canadian patents, showing that they already have the US ones as evidence of patent-worthiness and ownership of the invention.
Good Technology (competitor of RIM) has a cool "kiosk" application. Build an XP box with a cradle/cable and lock it down to the one application. Locate it in main lobbies and other user-dense sites. Addicts... errr... subscribers... pop their device into it and viola! Upgraded with minimal IT effort. The only problem is when the user is out there in the world and doesn't come back to HQ. Maybe RIM has an over-the-air way to deploy this "workaround" / "update"?
For sale: Signature. One owner. Low miles. Always garaged. New punctuation, just installed!
Or the other services that charge like GoodLink, etc. If you already have an Exchange server (okay it does require Exchange), wireless capability is free now and works almost as well as Blackberry. With Windows Mobile on the handheld, which is being deployed more now on phones it works great!
It's now a troll to point out that a story is a repeat? Nice.
"The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw."
James Wallace, an NTP lawyer, disputed that the new software would work as well as the current system...
Wallace said he hadn't read the details of the workaround. He said Research In Motion has told U.S. District Judge James Spencer in Richmond, Virginia, that the fix isn't very good.
So he doesn't know what the workaround is, but he knows that it doesn't work...based on hearsay from his opponent, who now says it is ready. Yeah, that's really credible there.
because the stupid not equal symbol translates into a HTML tag and I didn't use the preview.
In what programming language? Last time I checked, the inequality symbol in C, C++, C#, Perl, PHP, and Java was !=.
It may be better to hide the revised service as long as possible so that any future lawsuits will have to wait that much longer to be put into motion. Nothing but bad can be had by rolling this out any earlier than necessary.
Yes, that's right, but the post implied there would be no damages if RIM lost, but then simply implemented the workaround, which would not be true.