RIM sues Motorola over patent licensing fees

Device makers Research in Motion and Motorola have filed patent suits against each other, with each claiming the other is infringing on its handset technology without permission. In a suit filed Feb. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Motorola charges RIM with "willfully" infringing on its patents, causing "irreparable harm," while the RIM counter-suit--filed Feb. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas--accuses Motorola of "anticompetitive conduct" by demanding "unreasonable" royalties for patents RIM currently licenses, with the patents spanning across a series of familiar wireless technologies and services. RIM is petitioning the court to declare Motorola in violation of agreements requiring the firm to license its patents on reasonable financial terms, saying Motorola has jacked up royalty demands in response to the "declining fortunes of its handset business." In a statement, Motorola responded that "strong R&D and intellectual property are critical to our business. Motorola believes in the value of its IP and will move aggressively to protect that value on behalf of our customers, partners and shareholders."

For more on the RIM/Motorola suit:
-read this Wall Street Journal article

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