Mformation sues RIM for patent infringement

Mformation, a maker of mobile device management software, said Friday that it has sued Research In Motion for patent infringement.

According to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California, RIM is infringing on two of Mformation's patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,970,917 and 7,343,408, by making, using, and selling RIM's BlackBerry devices and their management software.

"After refusing to license Mformation's disclosed systems and software, RIM modified its BlackBerry software to include Mformation's patented systems and methods of remote management," New Jersey-based Mformation said in a statement. The company did not say what kind of remedies it is seeking.

We'll add RIM's response to the suit once we get it.

This does not, of course, mark the first time RIM has been sued for patent infringement. Most famously, the BlackBerry maker was embroiled in a long-running patent spat with patent-holding company NTP that at one point threatened to shut down BlackBerry sales and service. The dispute ended in 2006 with a settlement of $612.5 million.

[DigitalFrog]

Pure ripoff - waited for 3 years (patent was Nov 2005) to complain about RIM doing something they've been doing since before the patent was issued