RIM hit with $147M Enterprise Server patent infringement

The woes of Research In Motion seem to keep rolling in, as latest reports indicate they now have to pay out $147 million in damages for infringing on patents owned by Mformation Technologies.

A jury determined at the weekend that RIM's Enterprise Server infringed on Mformation patents and awarded damages of $8 for each of the 18.4 million units sold.

Mformation sued RIM in 2008 claiming that they infringed on two patents after being briefed on the technology. RIM refused to license the technology and then modified their software to include the patented technology, according to Mformation.

The maker of the Blackberry series of phones said they were disappointed with the jury's decision and that they were looking at their options.

The company said “RIM has worked hard for many years to independently develop its leading-edge BlackBerry technology and industry-leading intellectual property portfolio, and RIM does not believe that the Mformation patent in question is valid.”

Mformation founder and CTO Rakesh Kushwaha said “We ensured that our early innovations in device management were put through rigorous legal assessment by applying for patents on these innovations in the United States and abroad. With a total of 27 patents granted or pending, our IP portfolio will allow us to continue to shape the future of the Mobile Device Management market.”

This blow will hit Research In Motion at a bad time, as they struggle to recover ground lost in the smartphone sector. They are losing against the raft of Android and Apple phones. They reported a first quarter loss last month of $518 million.

Kitguru says: RIM need to bounce back with a range of business phones to appeal to the corporate sector. Latest reports show that the first BlackBerry 10 phones will not have a physical keyboard. In our opinion this is a bad move from the company.

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