RIM hit with $147.2 million verdict in wireless patent lawsuit
Research in Motion Ltd has been directed by a northern California jury directed to pay $147.2 million in patent litigation over a remote management system for wireless devices.
Mformation, a maker of mobile-device management software, sued RIM in 2008, alleging infringement of two patents. The company claimed it disclosed details of the technology to RIM during licensing discussions. After refusing to take a license, the BlackBerry maker modified its software to include the patented systems, Mformation said in its complaint.
Amar Thakur, an attorney for Mformation, said the jury directed RIM to pay an $8 royalty for every BlackBerry device connected to RIM’s enterprise server software, which brings the total award to $147.2 million. The verdict only covers U.S. sales through trial, Thakur said, and not future or foreign damages.
RIM’s stock has tumbled more than 70 percent in the past year as its customers abandoned the BlackBerry following the increasing popularity of its rivals Apple’s iPhone and other devices using Google Inc’s Android software. RIM last month posted its first and unexpected operating loss in eight years.
