WATERLOO, Ontario—Research In Motion Ltd. is going public with its crusade to improve the patenting process.
The BlackBerry maker took out full-page advertisements yesterday in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and six other newspapers urging reforms for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, RIM’s co-chief executive officers, said the company’s high-profile legal battle with patent-holding company NTP Inc. underscored “a patent system in obvious need of reform.”
“Who knew that patent litigation and the subject of patent reform could ever become such mainstream topics of conversation?” the ad asked. “The good news is that this topic is currently receiving much more attention from policy-makers and the Supreme Court and we hope the patent system will evolve to close the loopholes and become more balanced.”
Click here to see RIM’s full message.
RIM earlier this month paid NTP $612.5 million to settle the long-running case. RIM, which was found guilty of infringing on NTP’s patents, had hoped to stall the case in court as the patent office reviewed NPT’s claims.
The USPTO has rejected the claims on five patents at the heart of the case, but NTP has several avenues to appeal the decisions. It could be years before the matter is resolved. However, RIM’s payoff is final and will not hinge on the ultimate outcome.
In the ads, Lazaridis and Balsillie also assured users that “BlackBerry is here to stay,” and thanked backers for supporting the company during its legal battle with NTP.
