RIM, Good Technology settle suits

Good Technology has signed a settlement and license agreement with Research In Motion, bringing to an end a series of lawsuits between the BlackBerry developer and the start-up.

The companies announced the settlement late on Friday. Under the terms of the deal, RIM will get a lump-sum payment during its current quarter and ongoing quarterly royalties. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

"This means that this chapter of RIM and Good beating each others' brains out in court is closed," Good Technology CEO Danny Shader said.

Shader added that litigation was a waste of money and that the company will continue to focus on products. Good, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., has made some headway with partners Dell, PalmOne and, most recently, Motorola.

RIM representatives declined to comment.

At the center of the several lawsuits was Good's GoodLink software, which RIM alleged infringed on its patents. The BlackBerry maker followed up with several other suits alleging copyright and trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract and other actions.

Good had also filed a suit against its rival, aiming to invalidate certain RIM patents.

Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM remains embroiled in another case brought against it for patent infringement by NTP. The holding company was awarded an injunction against RIM by a U.S. district court, which found that the BlackBerry maker infringed on NTP's patents, but the order has been stayed pending an appeal by RIM.

In after-hours trading, RIM's share price shot up about 5 percent, or $4.05 per share, to $93.73, on the Island ECN electronic marketplace. On April 7, RIM is expected to report its fiscal 2004 fourth-quarter and year-end financial results.