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RIM Rejects More Patent Infringement Allegations

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the copycat dept.

SilentOne writes "Waterloo based Research In Motion is facing new allegations of patent violation. Visto Corp. of Redwood Shores, Calif., said Monday that it had won an infringement case against Seven Networks, also of California, and is now targeting RIM for infringing four patents, including three involved in the Seven action. "Our case against RIM is based on similar technology, law and patents as the case we have just won," Visto said in a statement. "

15 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. More lawsuits... by Beuno · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anyone else have the feeling the focus is more and more on legal battles instead of tech innovation?

    1. Re:More lawsuits... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This seems to have been the trend for a while. It's less and less about competition, more and more about meta-competition.

      Rather than produce the best product at the lowest cost, you buy the legislation to give you a competitive advantage. Rather than create something new, you file some patents and claim other people's work as your own.

      It's difficult to find a solution; the interwoven laws and old-buddy networks are so deeply entrenched that it'll take some major overhaul to set things straight. I really hope that the pseudocapitalists who strap on our shackles notice the chains hanging from their own ankles, as well.

  2. WTF?! by PygmySurfer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Under the law, which protects consumers from products that contain infringing technology, RIM should not be able to sell the BlackBerry system."

    Since when do patents do ANYTHING to protect consumers from anything?

    1. Re:WTF?! by uniqueUser · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Our copy-right and patent laws were orginaly set up to protect the small people. But it has backfired. I think that it might be time to completely re-think how the current implementation should be. Big Money has just gotten too big.

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      GENERATION 25: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social exper
    2. Re:WTF?! by typical · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Our copy-right and patent laws were orginaly set up to protect the small people.

      I don't know about that. They were set up with the intent of funding content creation. Copyright laws may still do that -- abused and stretched as they may be -- but software patents are actively harming the ability of engineers to function in the United States.

      (And engineers who want to make a product that can be sold in the United States, which is damn near everyone.)

      --
      Any program relying on (nontrivial) preemptive multithreading will be buggy.
  3. This is what many knew would happen by DarkFencer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is why RIM fought so hard against NTP. They could have settled early on for far less then the recent settlement + legal fees. They didn't want to give in early (or at all if possible) so they didn't end up as a target for a dozen more places like NTP.

    1. Re:This is what many knew would happen by FuryG3 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I disagree, I think that if they had a do-over they would have settled that case much earlier on. 612 million USD is a lot of cash to spend on discouraging other people from filing similar law suits.

      In any case, it certainly didn't work. The moral of the story (for companies like Visto) is not "it costs a lot of money to sue RIM" it's "suing RIM gets you $612 million."

  4. terrorists! by Feyr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    that's why there shall be no negotiation with terrorists! as soon as you cave in to their demands they'll just make more of them!

    1. Re:terrorists! by ScrewMaster · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Really, though, in this case the comparison to terrorism is weak. I'd say it's more like dealing with a school of really hungry piranha. Or maybe a programmed death machine ... to quote Reese when he was describing a Terminator to Sarah Connor:

      Listen. Understand. That Terminator is out there. It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with ... it doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear ... and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead.

      That's kinda how I look at these patent-wielding law firms. As long as you have the money to pay prote^H^H^H^H^Hlicense fees they absolutely will not stop. Ever.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  5. This is the danger of paying an extortionist... by Ritz_Just_Ritz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    it brings all the others out of the wordwork and encourages more extortion. Granted, RIM is no angel, but this is just getting silly.

  6. Those who can, do. by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Those who can't, sue.

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    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  7. Those who can, do. Those who can't... by FFFish · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...sue the asses off those who do.

    What a wonderful world we'll live in when it becomes so financially risky to try anything new, out of fear of some obscure patent-camping leech stealing the investment and work it took to make that new thing.

    We need patent reform: use your patent, or lose your patent.

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    Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
  8. Re:Well, I knowing first hand.. by ZachPruckowski · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hey, it's a Slashdot cliché. I'm surprised I was first. It's a bit of a risk everytime someone uses a still-funny cliché. You always struggle with "But is it still funny?". I mean, at any time, that cliché could fall, and join the ranks of formerly funny clichés about Linux-running hot grits and old Korean beowulf clusters.

  9. We need a linux based RIM alternative SOON!!! by crazyjeremy · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Lawsuits like this will happen whenever a company rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars where others have tried and failed. These lawsuites have permanently damaged Corporate America's trust in RIM (or any single point of failure for Corporate Mobile Communication).

    HOWEVER! This has actually produced a fertile field for alternative devices. With WindowsMobile getting more secure and more devices being wireless / wifi capable, the blackberry is no longer the only choice for corporate america (nor should it be). Microsoft is trying to play catchup by pushing Windows Mobile as real alternative to Blackberry. There is no comparison. Microsoft simply doesn't offer an end to end service like RIM. BUT if we got a VERY stable and VERY secure linux alternative (handheld and server?) it could save companies hundreds of thousands. But the service must be able to sync with Exchange / Domino and other corporate mail clients.

    Coming from a company with over half a million dollar budget for mobile devices and working closely with management, I saw many in Senior management that are very AFRAID to stay with RIM. They are looking for other alternatives just in case something ELSE happens to RIM and there IS no way out the next time. They are just now looking to not "put all their eggs (for mobile email) in one basket".

    Bottom line? Windows is now in the market with crappy devices (any 240 x 240 screen, Palm 700). Palm is in the market with a good device (treo 650 with 320 x 320 screen). But there is room to grow in this market.

    As soon as a developer gets one of these wifi/cell-enabled devices to run a solid linux distro and get some good encryption on it, mark my words, SOME in corporate America will eat it up, especially with the cost savings. RIM proved this in a way. Blackberries are wonderful email devices. They faltered (till recently) as phone devices. They are NOT PDAs. Corporate America doesn't necessarily need all their employees to have PDA's, but many if not most need email and a viewable calendar 24/7.

    Botom line: RIM made lots of money from an email device and now that corporate America is afraid of RIM someone else can cash in if they beat Microsoft to the punch..

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    Funnypics
  10. sharks by cahiha · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The sharks seem to be circling each other: RIM, NTP, Visto, etc. Let them all sue each other out of existence, while the rest of us keep using our wireless E-mail based on standard protocols and standard servers.