The legal battle between NTP and RIM was joined by a third company from Norway. With a string of court losses and facing a possible shutdown of their Blackberry surface, RIM got an unexpected win today from the United States Patent Office (USPTO). The USPTO has ruled that a Norwegian company may have filed one of the disputed patents before NTP.
RIM's Blackberry devices are used by millions of United States customers. RIM and NTP had agreed to a $450 million dollar settlement, but that was thrown out by a US District Judge James Spencer on December 1st, 2005.
The USPTO ruling is considered "non-final" and NTP is expected to contest it. It could take months before everything is finalized. Judge Spencer has stated that he is getting impatient with the case and will not wait for the USPTO.
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Source:
TG Daily
Dec 3, 2005, 01:12 AM
