Sales injunction possible from patent case
By SIMON AVERY TECHNOLOGY REPORTER
Research In Motion Ltd. faces the spectre of an injunction against sales of its BlackBerry communications products in the United States after a court there yesterday refused to rehear a patent infringement case against the company.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington denied RIM's request that its full slate of 12 judges hear the case. In August, a panel of three of the court's judges upheld most of a jury ruling that found RIM had infringed on patents held by NTP Inc., a patent holding firm in Virginia.
While the decision was not unexpected, the prospect of the injunction sent shares of the Waterloo, Ont.-based company tumbling as much as 10 per cent. They closed on the Toronto Stock Exchange down 4 per cent, or $3.20, at $75.95.
The U.S. accounts for about 70 per cent of RIM's total sales.
The dispute between the two companies now heads back to district court in Virginia, where NTP says it will seek to have a previously awarded injunction imposed.
RIM, however, said it will ask the federal court to stay further proceedings while the company tries to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to review the appeal court's August decision.
Legal experts don't expect the top court to hear the case because it already has a couple of intellectual property cases before it. But in a news release, RIM said the case "raises significant national and international issues warranting further appellate review."
Specifically, the company has argued that, because parts of the alleged infringement occurred on its relay and routing system that is based in Canada, U.S. patent law should not apply. Under U.S. law, the territorial reach of a patent is limited and generally only enforceable if the infringement occurs in the United States. However, both the district court and appeals court rejected this argument.