Feds want their BlackBerrys

As patent-holding firm NTP and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion duke it out in court over a patent infringement lawsuit, the federal government has weighed in as a customer.

Bottom line: The feds want their BlackBerry paging service developed by RIM, according to court documents filed last week in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The filing comes as the federal court prepares to reach a key decision next week in the contentious patent lawsuit. Judge James Spencer is expected to rule as early as Nov. 22 on the validity of a $450 million settlement agreement that the parties signed in March.

NTP, which seeks an injunction against RIM's BlackBerry on the grounds that it violates NTP's patents, argued that the settlement agreement is ambiguous. RIM contends that it is clearly outlined.

Meanwhile, the government wants to continue using BlackBerry pagers, regardless of the court's ultimate decision.

"The language of this injunction would literally prohibit RIM from providing the services that would be essential for the federal government," the Department of Justice said in its court filing. "Moreover, there does not appear to be a simple manner in which RIM can identify which users of BlackBerries are part of the federal government."

RIM does not maintain a list of which e-mail addresses and PIN numbers belong to government employees.

But NTP contends that RIM is able to easily gather this information from the carriers that supply service to BlackBerry customers.

"Back in February 2003, RIM acknowledged they would have to get the government's PIN numbers from the carriers. The carriers would be highly motivated to turn the information over to them, in order to keep the money flowing in," said Jim Wallace, an attorney with Wiley Rein & Fielding, who represents NTP.

The case dates back to 2001, when NTP filed a lawsuit stating that RIM's BlackBerry pager infringed on NTP's patents. In 2002, a jury ruled in NTP's favor and awarded the patent holder a $23.1 million judgment.

RIM was dealt another blow in 2003, when the court ordered an injunction to halt sales of BlackBerry pagers in the U.S. The court, however, stayed its order pending RIM's appeal.

The BlackBerry company found new hope later that year when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ordered another review of NTP's patents. Judge Spencer, in a hearing last week, indicated that he did not plan to wait for the patent office's decision before issuing his own ruling in the case.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear RIM's case and pushed it back down to the lower court to rule on the injunction.

"We will deal with the outstanding issues, get those resolved, and deal with the injunctive relief...I intend to move swiftly on this," Spencer said, according to a transcript of a court hearing last week.

"I have spent enough of my time and life involved with NTP and RIM. So we are going to deal with this swiftly, get it out of the way, and then you all can go wherever you go when you leave me," the judge added.

[nightveil]

Not only Feds, business in general

While the Federal government might be the largest single collection
of Blackbery users, the devices are prevelant in many other
businesses. Shutting down the service will be detrimental to them
as well.

If RIM infringed on a patent, then they shouldn't be allowed to sell
the infringing product. But the service that exists for current users
should be considered a seperate entity and allowed to continue.

[jash69]

Patent Reform Please!!!

If any case ever screamed for how badly we are in need of Patent reform, it's this one. The Founder of the company was allowed to file a patent for how emails could be delivered to a wireless device, which is akin to the Internet being used to deliver data. He died and then this shell of a corporation bought the Patents and have been blackmailing RIM ever since. This is Extortion and should be punished to the full extent of the law, while they are also scolded for how greedy they are for not taking the multiple offers to settle.

[alek_nedic]

Any independant courts in US?

Meanwhile, the government wants to continue using BlackBerry pagers, regardless of the court's ultimate decision.
Nothing more to add...
http://www.analogstereo.com/cassette_deck_pioneer_deh_p8000r.htm

[rcrusoe]

Fix it or forget it

If the Feds want to keep their blackberry's then let them fix their
busted patient / copyright system for everyone, or suffer with the
rest of us.

You can't have it both ways. Those in Washington need to decide if
they are going to support the people, or their "business partners"
in Hollywood and the music industry.

[Milly Staples]

I wasn't aware that RIM...

... was a part of Hollywood OR the music business.