Research In Motion, Visto Settle Patent Litigation (Update4)
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07/16/2009
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By Cary O’Reilly and Susan Decker
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of the BlackBerry e-mail device, agreed to pay $267.5 million to license Visto Corp. patents and settle all patent litigation between the companies.
Most of the payment will be recorded as an unusual item in the second quarter of fiscal 2010, Waterloo, Ontario-based Research In Motion said in statement on its Web site. In exchange, the company gets a perpetual and fully paid license on all Visto patents, as well as a transfer of certain Visto intellectual property, it said.
Research In Motion and Visto have been battling for years, each accusing the other of infringing patents. The settlement “removes a potential overhang and could modestly lower RIM’s legal costs,” said Maynard Um, a UBS AG analyst in New York who has a “buy” rating on the shares.
Cases in San Francisco and Marshall, Texas, were put on hold last year to allow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to take a second look at the Visto and Research In Motion patents.
Visto, whose software is used by Vodafone Group Plc, Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel Corp., claimed Research In Motion was using its technology without a license. Research In Motion argued the Visto patents contain no new inventions.
Patent Violation
In May 2008, Research In Motion won a case it filed against closely held Visto in Canada. Visto, based in Redwood City, California, agreed to pay royalties after a Canadian court found the company violated Research In Motion patents.
Allen & Overy, one of Britain’s largest law firms, was criticized by a judge in December for charging fees of 5.2 million pounds ($7.8 million) in the dispute between the companies, the Financial Times reported.
The firm said it was instructed by Research In Motion to leave “no stone unturned” in the case, the FT reported.
In 2006, Research In Motion paid $612.5 million to settle a patent dispute with a closely held Virginia company and avert a shutdown of the BlackBerry service.
Research In Motion is still in a patent dispute with Motorola Inc. that began when the companies were unable to come to terms for a contract to replace one that expired in 2007. A federal magistrate judge in Dallas last month put Motorola’s infringement claims on hold because the patent office is reviewing them.
Research In Motion rose $2.08 to $72.23 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have gained 78 percent this year.
The cases are Visto Corp. v. Research In Motion, 06-cv-181 and 07-375, both U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (Marshall), and Research In Motion Ltd. v. Visto Corp., 07cv3177, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco).
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of the BlackBerry e-mail device, agreed to pay $267.5 million to license Visto Corp. patents and settle all patent litigation between the companies.
Most of the payment will be recorded as an unusual item in the second quarter of fiscal 2010, Waterloo, Ontario-based Research In Motion said in statement on its Web site. In exchange, the company gets a perpetual and fully paid license on all Visto patents, as well as a transfer of certain Visto intellectual property, it said.
Research In Motion and Visto have been battling for years, each accusing the other of infringing patents. The settlement “removes a potential overhang and could modestly lower RIM’s legal costs,” said Maynard Um, a UBS AG analyst in New York who has a “buy” rating on the shares.
Cases in San Francisco and Marshall, Texas, were put on hold last year to allow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to take a second look at the Visto and Research In Motion patents.
Visto, whose software is used by Vodafone Group Plc, Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel Corp., claimed Research In Motion was using its technology without a license. Research In Motion argued the Visto patents contain no new inventions.
Patent Violation
In May 2008, Research In Motion won a case it filed against closely held Visto in Canada. Visto, based in Redwood City, California, agreed to pay royalties after a Canadian court found the company violated Research In Motion patents.
Allen & Overy, one of Britain’s largest law firms, was criticized by a judge in December for charging fees of 5.2 million pounds ($7.8 million) in the dispute between the companies, the Financial Times reported.
The firm said it was instructed by Research In Motion to leave “no stone unturned” in the case, the FT reported.
In 2006, Research In Motion paid $612.5 million to settle a patent dispute with a closely held Virginia company and avert a shutdown of the BlackBerry service.
Research In Motion is still in a patent dispute with Motorola Inc. that began when the companies were unable to come to terms for a contract to replace one that expired in 2007. A federal magistrate judge in Dallas last month put Motorola’s infringement claims on hold because the patent office is reviewing them.
Research In Motion rose $2.08 to $72.23 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have gained 78 percent this year.
The cases are Visto Corp. v. Research In Motion, 06-cv-181 and 07-375, both U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (Marshall), and Research In Motion Ltd. v. Visto Corp., 07cv3177, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco).