Motorola filed a claim with the U.S. International Trade Commission against Research In Motion, arguing the BlackBerry maker is infringing on five of its patents. Motorola is seeking to bar the sale of the allegedly infringing products, though the company did not say which BlackBerry models it found at fault.
In its complaint, Motorola said the patents were related to advances Motorola had made in areas including WiFi access and application management. The company is asking the ITC to start a probe into RIM's alleged use of the patents. The case is the latest dispute between handset makers to come before the ITC; Nokia and Apple also have been trading claims of patent infringement before the commission.
"In light of RIM's continued unlicensed use of Motorola's patents, RIM's use of delay tactics in our current patent litigation and RIM's refusal to design out Motorola's proprietary technology, Motorola has no choice but to file a complaint with the ITC to halt RIM's continued infringement," Jonathan Meyer, Motorola's senior vice president of intellectual property law, told Dow Jones Newswires.
This is not the first time the two companies have been involved in a legal tangle over patents. Motorola and RIM traded lawsuits in February 2008 regarding a series of cross-licensing deals that never came to pass. Additionally, RIM has sued Motorola for allegedly improperly blocking RIM from hiring former Motorola workers.
A RIM spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For more:
- see this Dow Jones Newswires article (sub. req.)
- see this Reuters article
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