Motorola, RIM settle patent dispute
updated 09:40 am EDT, Fri June 11, 2010
Motorola and RIM in truce on wireless patents
Motorola and Research in Motion today ended a brief but heated patent dispute by agreeing to a settlement. The terms involve cross-licensing and transferring patents relating to cellular data, e-mail and Wi-Fi. RIM may have made the concessions in the deal as it will also pay both an immediate settlement fee and royalties to Motorola.
The fight escalated this year when Motorola, after filing a lawsuit, accused RIM of deliberately stalling and threatened a trade ban on BlackBerry phones to force a deal. RIM responded by countersuing Motorola and accusing the Android-friendly company of gouging on patents for basic smartphone technology. The Canadian firm won a victory in February when it was found to not violate one patent but now doesn't appear to have escaped other patent issues.
None of the companies would provide the financial terms of the deal, but settlements usually involve large sums in dozens or hundreds of millions of dollars.
