RIM sets aside more cash for NTP case

Research In Motion said Thursday that it would set aside additional funds in its fourth-quarter results related to its ongoing case with holding company NTP. RIM decided to take a provision of between $7 million and $8 million as a result of court rulings on Feb. 28. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia did not make decisions relating to damages and injunctive relief but ordered the two companies to begin mediation discussions overseen by Magistrate Judge Dennis W. Dohnal. No time frame was set for the mediation. As part of the ruling, RIM was ordered to account for sales and services through Feb. 28, for the purposes of determining potential damages.

At the end of last year, a jury decided that RIM infringed on patents and ordered it to pay $23 million to NTP. RIM appealed the decision, saying that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is re-examining five of the patents owned by NTP.