NTP wins injunction against RIM

A federal court weighing the prolonged patent infringement case between NTP and Research in Motion (RIM), issued an injunction Tuesday enjoining RIM from selling its BlackBerry wireless e-mail handhelds, software and services in the U.S. and then stayed the injunction pending appeal.

A federal court weighing the prolonged patent infringement case between NTP and Research in Motion (RIM), issued an injunction Tuesday enjoining RIM from selling its BlackBerry wireless e-mail handhelds, software and services in the U.S. and then stayed the injunction pending appeal.

The decision, made by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, comes as the latest twist in the 2-year-old patent suit, but was not considered a surprise.

“It was fully expected,” NTP attorney James Wallace said Wednesday, referring to the injunction. Wallace, who is a partner with Wiley Rein & Fielding in Washington, D.C., added that Tuesday’s hearing was intended to pull together prior rulings in the case.

Arlington, Va.-based NTP sued RIM over claims that the company infringed on patents covering the use of radio frequency wireless communications in electronic mail systems.

In November, a jury considering the case ruled in favor of NTP, and awarded the company $23 million in damages.

As of May 31, 2003, RIM had incurred damages of over $53.7 million in the case, including enhanced damages, attorneys fees and interest, the court said. However, RIM has vowed to keep fighting through post-trial motions and on appeal.

In response to motions made by RIM, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has agreed to re-examine the validity of five patents owned by NTP.

Waterloo, Ontario, RIM hopes to stay its appeal pending the reexamination of the disputed patents, in hopes of bolstering its case.

In a statement released after Tuesday’s ruling, Henry Bunsow, RIM lead counsel and partner at Howrey Simon Arnold & White, said that the company continues to believe the jury verdict was wrong as “both a matter of law and fact.”

However, NTP’s Wallace said that the patent holding company is “highly confident” it will also win in the appeals. He added that the appeals process could take one to two years to complete.

The court’s order placed an injunction on BlackBerry models 850, 857, 950, 957, 5810, 6510, 6210 and 6750. The injunction stays in effect until the expiration of the disputed NTP patents, the latest of which expires on May 20, 2012.