Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), the Canadian maker of BlackBerry devices, won a judge’s order overturning a $147.2 million patent-infringement award to rival MFormation Technologies Inc. RIM rose as much as 5 percent.
Jurors in federal court in San Francisco concluded in mid- July that RIM software violated Edison, New Jersey-based MFormation’s patent-protected inventions.
“There was no legally sufficient evidentiary basis” for the jury’s findings, U.S. District Chief Judge James Ware wrote in an Aug. 8 opinion.
MFormation, which makes mobile-device management software, sued RIM in 2008, saying it misappropriated technology learned during failed licensing discussions. RIM denied any wrongdoing.
“We appreciate the judge’s careful consideration of this case,” said Steve Zipperstein, RIM’s chief legal officer, in a statement yesterday.
MFormation spokeswoman Stephanie Markham didn’t immediately respond to voice- and e-mail messages seeking comment on the ruling.
RIM shares climbed 4.2 percent on Aug. 8 amid speculation by a Jefferies & Co. analyst that Samsung Electronics Co. may license the struggling BlackBerry maker’s new BlackBerry 10 software or consider buying the company.
RIM’s share of the worldwide smartphone market fell to 4.8 percent in the second quarter from 12 percent a year earlier as Google Inc.’s Android operating system climbed to 68 percent and Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone slipped to 17 percent.
RIM is planning to release two new BB10 phones early next year and try to claw back some of its lost market share.
The case is MFormation Technologies v. Research In Motion Ltd., 08-04990, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
Apple Can Seek Appeal of Kodak Ruling on Imaging Patents
Apple Inc., which lost part of a court fight with Eastman Kodak Co. (EKDKQ) this month when a federal judge denied its ownership claim of two digital image patents, can seek an appeal of his decision, the judge said.
Apple Inc., which lost part of a court fight with Eastman Kodak Co. (EKDKQ) this month when a federal judge denied its ownership claim of two digital image patents, can seek an appeal of his decision, the judge said.
Bankrupt Kodak sued Apple in June, accusing the iPhone maker of trying to disrupt an auction of more than 1,000 patents that started Aug. 8. A judge in Manhattan ruled in favor of Kodak on two of 10 patents claimed by Apple, which Kodak plans to sell as part of its restructuring.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper told Apple in an Aug. 8 order that the company can ask for a review of the ruling before it becomes final, initiating a so-called interlocutory appeal. He declined to authorize an immediate appeal because federal policy was against “piecemeal appeals.”
Apple was free to try to get a district judge to take the case, he said.
In a letter to Gropper, Apple had asked him to facilitate an immediate appeal.
No comments:
Post a Comment