A U.S. judge has overturned a $147.2 million jury award against Research in Motion Ltd, ruling that the BlackBerry maker has not infringed a Mformation Technologies Inc patent covering a remote management system for wireless devices.<\/p>\n
Wednesday’s ruling, outlined in court documents, gives RIM a much needed reprieve as it battles to conserve cash and turn around its fast-fading fortunes. More nimble competitors have outgunned RIM in recent months, luring away many long-time BlackBerry users.<\/p>\n
Crucially for RIM, U.S. District Chief Judge James Ware also granted RIM’s motion seeking a new trial if a higher court overturns his ruling. This means that the jury award cannot be reinstated should Mformation successfully appeal the new ruling.<\/p>\n
RIM, whose share price has fallen over 70 percent this year as its devices have ceded ground to a new crop of smartphones like Apple Inc’s iPhone and a range of devices that run on Google Inc’s Android software, cheered the ruling.<\/p>\n
“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,” said RIM’s Chief Legal Officer Steve Zipperstein in a statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Mformation, which helps companies manage their smartphone inventory, said it is assessing its legal options and will determine its next steps shortly.<\/p>\n
“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,” Chief Executive Todd DeLaughter said in an email.<\/p>\n
RIM shares rose more than 5 percent early on Thursday to $8.03 on the Nasdaq, but pared gains later in the day and were up 1.1 percent at $7.70 at 1500 ET. Its Toronto-listed shares were up 1.6 percent at C$7.68.<\/p>\n
Mformation sued RIM in 2008 and the jury trial began in June. The jury ruled last month that RIM had infringed the Mformation patent and awarded the New Jersey-based company $147.2 million in damages.<\/p>\n
Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM argued that the jury did not have sufficient evidence to reach this verdict and sought to have it overturned by the judge, who was overseeing the trial.<\/p>\n
“The court finds that there was no ‘legally sufficient evidentiary basis’ on which a reasonable jury could have found for Mformation on the issue of infringement,” said Judge Ware in his ruling.<\/p>\n
RIM is no stranger to patent litigation – it was almost crippled by a five-year patent fight with NTP that began in 2001 and at one point threatened to shut down RIM’s U.S. operations. RIM eventually paid out more than $600 million to NTP Inc, a patent holding company, to settle that case.<\/p>\n
RIM said the dispute with Mformation highlights the need for reforms to patent laws.<\/p>\n
“The purpose of the patent system is to encourage innovation, but the system is still too often exploited in pursuit of other goals,” said Zipperstein.<\/p>\n
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