Motorola-RIM patent dispute put on hold

A magistrate judge ordered Motorola's patent infringement lawsuit against Research In Motion to be put on hold while the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office looks into the issue.

The judge overseeing the patent spat, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Sanderson, said that the civil suit was "still in its infancy." RIM asked the patent office to look into 10 Motorola patents listed in Motorola's claim. The judge was apparently not persuaded by Motorola's argument that any further delay would let RIM gain more market share.

The two companies traded lawsuits in February 2008 regarding a series of cross-licensing deals that never came to pass. Motorola accuses RIM of infringing on 14 handset patents, while RIM accuses Motorola of infringing on nine patents.

At the time, Motorola said that RIM was "willfully" infringing on its patents. RIM countered that Motorola was charging "unreasonable royalties" for patents that RIM licenced.

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