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It's War for RIM and Motorola

This article is more than 10 years old.

Motorola got pistol-whipped with a Blackberry, a Blackberry Research In Motion lawsuit that is. The phone-maker was served the same day it filed a nearly identical suit against its competitor. RIM and Motorola each accuse the other of stealing technology, and are determined to fight it out in court.

On Saturday, Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola kicked off the holiday weekend by sucker-punching Canadian RIM with a patent lawsuit claiming that RIM continues to violate seven of Motorola's patents. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas. The Associated Press reported that Motorola filed on Feb. 15.

On the very same day, RIM filed a similar lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Northern District of Texas against Motorola for "demanding exorbitant royalties" on patents that are essential to RIM's business. Besides being accused of "anti-competitive conduct," Motorola is also accused of violating nine different patents and for breaking a 2003 agreement by refusing to agree to new terms beyond January 2008. Adding injury to lawsuit, RIM is also claiming that Motorola's licensing fees were due to"declining fortunes of its handset business."

There is a lot on the line for the two competitors. They are billion-dollar heavy-weights in an increasingly competitive industry and the fall-out from these lawsuits could seriously damage brands and balance sheets.

RIM probably knows a few good patent attorneys. In 2006, after four years in courts it was forced to pay $612.5 million dollars in damages to NTP which had accused RIM of copying its patented technology and using it in the very popular Blackberry smart phone.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond School specializing in federal court rulings where patent cases are heard. In a phone interview, said he found it interesting the that two companies chose to file their lawsuits in Texas. Why? Because, "the Eastern District, where Motorola is filing, has a reputation for being very pro-plaintiff in patent litigation. They are probably relying on that." Tobias suspects that the cases will be consolidated because it is really only one case, the question is where it will be heard. Ironically, both firms are acting as plaintiff and defendant, so it won't matter what trends exist in terms of favoring the accused or accuser in patent cases.