Against Monopoly

defending the right to innovate

Monopoly corrupts. Absolute monopoly corrupts absolutely.

BlackBerry: Here We Go Again

Do not bother hitting the "reload" button or clearing the cache in your Web browser it will not help. Tuesday's hauntingly familiar headlines about a patent-infringement lawsuit against BlackBerry maker Research in Motion are, in fact, new. The lawsuit, filed by software company Visto, seeks to shut down the popular (and, for some, near-addictive) BlackBerry wireless e-mail service less than two months after a similar suit from patent holding company NTP was settled. . . . There is an important difference between the NTP suit and the latest suit against Research in Motion. Unlike NTP, an entity that lacked business operations, Visto actually competes with Research in Motion, as Forbes.com points out.

Visto co-founder and senior vice president Daniel Mendez was quoted saying, "We're not seeking a royalty, we're seeking an injunction."

[Posted at 05/02/2006 05:32 AM by Sheldon Richman on Blocking Technology comments(2)]

Comments

Maybe the guy from Visto isn't seeking a royalty, but I am. I think I have a drawing here from the 80s that resembles the BlackBerry.... Why work when you can hire a patent attorney, get your patent, and sue someone who happened to make a successful product after you did some fancy legal maneuvering?

[Comment at 05/02/2006 07:11 AM by Mr. Patent Potentate]

Visto happens to be that company that licensed NTP's patents near the end of the RIMvNTP trial (to add 'legitimacy' to the patents). In exchange for the patent rights, NTP became a minority stakeholder in Visto. So, here we really go again. Double Jeopardy for RIM, on slightly different charges, with patents having equally broad and obvious claims.

[Comment at 05/02/2006 01:38 PM by Jackson Lenford]