Research in Motion Limited (TSE:RIM), the makers of Blackberry, is facing a lawsuit from the Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) over patents used in their products.
NXP filed in a United States Federal Court in Orlando, Florida and they claim that six of their patents are in RIM’s Blackberry phones(including Torch, Curve, and Bold) and the Playbook. They are seeking cash compensation for losses that date back from 1997 to 2008.
RIM is already struggling to cell their phones and tablet in amidst of competition from the like of Apple and Google. They have also lost a significant amount in stocks. Their shares fell 8.1 percent to just $13.21 at 12:31 pm Eastern Standard Time.
If NXP successfully wins this lawsuit, it could potentially force Blackberry to recall products and update their current operating systems. The future is not looking bright for Blackberry or Research in Motion.
This wasn’t the first time that the phone maker was involved in a litigation concerning patent infringements. Back in 2001, they were slapped with a lawsuit from Glenayre Electronics, another in 2003 with NTP, and in 2006 with Visto. The company filed a lawsuit against Good Technology in 2002, and a year later they filed another one against Xerox.
RIM is a Canadian company that specializes in making and marketing a wide range of mobile products including smart phones and tablet computers. During their better days, they acquired numerous companies including Certicom, DataViz, The Astonishing Tribe, Jaycut, and Newbay.
NXP is a company that makes semiconductor products for mobile devices, cars, wireless infrastructure systems, computers, lighting, and much more. They are based in Eindhoven, Netherlands and feature operations all over the world including Europe, Asia, and North America.
Given the previous history RIM’s lawsuits, it’s a safe bet to say that they will have to pay up some money for it and that’s probably going to hurt their company even more. And unless another company is willing to buy up RIM, it’s apparent that they’re future is bleak.
