COPYCENSE

“Research In Motion on Wednesday lost two rounds in the long-running patent lawsuit that threatens to imperil the company’s BlackBerry service in the United States.

“U.S. District Judge James Spencer denied RIM’s request to halt the proceedings until the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office re-examines whether the patents are valid. Spencer said judges are under no obligation to wait and suggested that the re-examination process could take up to 10 years, if appeals are counted.

“In a second order released Wednesday, the judge also rejected a $450 million settlement reached earlier in the year between RIM and NTP–a small patent-holding company in Arlington, Va., that filed the lawsuit–saying it was not ‘valid and enforceable.’ That settlement fell apart in June.”

Declan McCullagh. Judge to RIM: We’re Not Delaying This Any Longer. News.com. Nov. 30, 2005.

Updates:

Ian Austen. Bye Bye BlackBerry? The New York Times. Dec. 3, 2005.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.