RIM and NTP Settlement Agreement at Impasse

Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) has filed a motion seeking enforcement of a $450-million settlement agreement allegedly reached with NTP (see an earlier issue of e-tips®, Vol 3 No 10, January 26, 2005, regarding the Canadian Government's amicus curiae brief in the litigation). NTP is arguing that the settlement agreement was not finalized. Perhaps bolstering its bargaining position, RIM says that it now has a patent workaround that will allow the use of all of RIM's wireless e-mail technology without infringing any of NTP's patents. A US court ruled last year that RIM had infringed an NTP-owned patent in RIM's wireless e-mail delivery system. While appeals were pending, the companies had appeared to settle the dispute. RIM offered a lump sum payment for licensing the disputed technology in perpetuity, but NTP now alleges that a definitive agreement was never reached. The incomplete settlement raises the fear that NTP could enjoin RIM from the use of its products in the US, a market that accounts for 75% of RIM's revenue. For news reports on the impasse, see: http://makeashorterlink.com/?W26612D4B; and http://makeashorterlink.com/?L27634D4B For news on the workaround, visit: http://makeashorterlink.com/?U48624D4B Summary by: Nyall Engfield