WATERLOO, Ontario-Adding a new twist in a complicated legal drama, a U.S. judge ruled that Research In Motion Ltd. and NTP Inc. must begin negotiations over their heated patent battle, and that a magistrate judge will oversee those discussions.
However, U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer did not rule on two key aspects of the case-whether RIM must stop selling its BlackBerry wireless e-mail device in the United States and whether it must pay damages to NTP.
The judge did not set a time frame for the negotiations. RIM said that further rulings and potential appeals in the case will be postponed pending the outcome of the mediation process.
The mediation process may give RIM and NTP a chance to reach an agreement on their heated patent dispute. Industry observers and legal experts have said that an eventual deal between RIM and NTP is likely.
“It’s better (for RIM) to deal with NTP than to have their service shut down,” said Erik Belt, a partner with law firm Bromberg & Sunstein L.L.P. who deals with patent issues. Belt said NTP could have the upper hand in possible negotiations because RIM faces millions in damages and a possible injunction. An injunction would force the company to stop selling its BlackBerry service in the United States.
The judge’s mediation order comes a few months after a jury trial found that RIM infringed on five of NTP’s patents, and ordered RIM to pay $23 million in damages.
RIM said it would appeal the verdict.
As part of its effort to stall the case, RIM announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will re-examine five of NTP’s patents that were under consideration in the court case. However, the re-examination comes after the court case, which means that it may have little bearing on the eventual outcome of the legal battle between the two companies. A patent office re-examination can take as long as a year and a half.
