US District Judge Overturns $147 Million Settlement Against Research in Motion - The UpStream

US District Judge Overturns $147 Million Settlement Against Research in Motion

posted Saturday Aug 11, 2012 by Nicholas DiMeo

US District Judge Overturns $147 Million Settlement Against Research in Motion

Good things come to those who wait long enough. For Research in Motion, the maker of the infamous BlackBerry devices which have come and gone with their popularity as fast as Kevin Federline's rap career, the wait seems to have been very, very long. Inappropriate jobs, faulty PlayBooks and marketing blunders have plagued the company until recently, where RIM has decided to set a new course for their future. Now, it would appear good things are happening in the customary set of three.

RIM's second piece of good news in five months comes from none other than a US judge, overturning a ruling of infringement between Research in Motion and Mformation Technologies. The judge said that RIM did not infringe on the plaintiff's patent involving a remote management system on a wireless device.

How much money will RIM get back and what's next for the company. We dive into the good stuff, head-first, after the break.

With losses and bad things happening to the company seemingly every month, this overturned ruling will be great for Research in Motion, who has been struggling to save cash since early this year. I say that because now RIM will not have to hand over $147 million to Mformation Technologies. That money can be spent on retaining what's left of the BlackBerry users and convincing them to move onto the new flagship OS, BlackBerry 10.

The US judge, James Ware, also allowed RIM the opportunity to a new trial if the next level court were to overturn his district court decision. This is so that if Mformation were to appeal the ruling, which they realistically might, the almost $150 million won't have to be handed right back to them. Mformation Technologies, for those who don't know, is a company that helps other companies manage and maintain smartdevice inventory on an enterprise level. This includes remotely securing hardware and supporting smartphones for an entire business fleet.

RIM is obviously thrilled about the decision and their Chief Legal Officer, Steve Zipperstein, was quick to release a statement about the news.

We appreciate the judge's careful consideration of this case. RIM did not infringe on Mformation's patent and we are pleased with this victory. The purpose of the patent system is to encourage innovation, but the system is still too often exploited in pursuit of other goals. Many policy makers have already recognized the need to address this problem and we call on others to join them as this case clearly highlights the significant need for continuing policy reform to help reduce the amount of resources wasted on unwarranted patent litigation.

Mformation said they were reviewing legal options and will figure out their game plan soon.

Mformation is deeply disappointed that the court would overturn a jury verdict after a month of trial including a week of thoughtful deliberation by the jury.

With this bit of good news, RIM's shared went up over 5 percent, ending at $8.22 this week. It's good to see a lawsuit from 2008 at least temporarily end and because it hurts to see RIM writhe in agony from the hands of Google and Apple, hopefully we'll see the company back on its feet soon. Perhaps the protection of $150 million in cash along with its new operating system will be just the ticket RIM needs to get back into at least the top two spots in the market.

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