 |
|
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
   | 
| |||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. court rejects BlackBerry case
 NTP is suing BlackBerry maker Research In Motion on charges of patent infringement. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Supreme on Monday refused to hear a case involving a claim of patent infringement by the makers of the BlackBerry, sending the case back to trial judge, where an injunction could take the handheld wireless e-mail devices off the market. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM), a Canadian firm, had challenged a lower court ruling that the company infringed on patents held by NTP Inc., a small Virginia firm. In a press release, NTP said it is scheduled to file a brief with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on February 1. The judge in the case has not set a date for a hearing. Such an injunction, the company said, "would not affect usage of BlackBerry products by federal, state, or local government entities and/or any first-responder entities such as law enforcement or fire departments." A jury has already awarded NTP accrued damages until an injunction becomes effective. The high court was asked to intervene in the case now, and resolve how technology developed and controlled across national borders affects U.S. patent and copyright holders. RIM argued its main transmitter is in the Canadian province of Ontario, where its data is relayed, but a federal appeals court ruled since BlackBerry users operate their device in the United States, the company could be liable for damages. NTP, based outside Washington in suburban Virginia, had been negotiating unsuccessfully with RIM for a settlement. The company is a patent-holding firm that does not develop technology or manufacture any products. NTP was originally awarded 5.6 percent of RIM's BlackBerry sales by a jury in 2001, and federal Judge James Spencer upped that to about 8.5 percent. Courts around the country, including the Supreme Court, have been overwhelmed in recent years with an increasing number of high technology cases, as federal law tries to keep with the ever-evolving Cyber Age. The financial stakes are huge for the research and development aspect of the industry, with many leading high-tech forms worried about similar lawsuits. The BlackBerry device allows users to send and receive their business e-mail and other information through a small device away from their office computers, allowing work to be done from home or away on business. It relies on sophisticated, instantaneous radio transmission. The Bush administration told the courts that since law enforcement and hospitals rely on the technology, an injunction could be potentially dangerous in an emergency. It is unclear federal law would prevent service being cut off to those vital functions. The Supreme Court reserves the right to hear the case in the future, pending further appeals. 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| © 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
