Brits can hang on to their BlackBerrys |
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Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:20
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LONDON - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. got some relief today after the High Court ruled for it in a patent infringement case involving Luxembourg-based Inpro Licensing. The case involved a patent for a process by which computer systems use less processing power when portable devices connect to servers on the Internet.
Inpro, which had patented the technology way back in April 1996, had taken T-Mobile and Research In Motion UK to the court alleging that this patent had been infringed. RIM had contented that Inpro's patent was not valid since the whole process was "obvious."
Inpro had filed a counter case and RIM was then obliged to prove that the said technology was in use much before 1996. The company assembled teams from University College London and the University of California, Berkeley to testify on its behalf at the High Court. After hearing both sides, Mr Justice Pumfrey decided that RIM was right since those patents lacked novelty. The ruling comes as a relief to an estimated 375,000 BlackBerry users in Britain, who use the devices to conduct their day-to-day businesses.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, the US Patent Office has rejected a fifth patent claim by NTP and has backed the Canada-based RIM all the way. Even the US Government has intervened in the case and has asked Judge Spencer, who is the presiding judge in the RIM versus NTP case to ensure that BlackBerry service does not shutdown. The government claimed that it had taken this step as a "public interest measure."
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NTP says RIM had made a settlement offer, but it's unacceptable 