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Research In Motion

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Research In Motion Limited

Type	Public TSX: RIM, NASDAQ: RIMM
Founded	Waterloo, Ontario (1984)
Headquarters	Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Key people	Mike Lazaridis, founder and co-CEO Jim Balsillie, co-CEO Dennis Kavelman, CFO
Industry	wireless handheld communication products
Products	BlackBerry, Inter@ctive pager
Revenue	US$3.04 billion (fiscal 2006)
Employees	6,000 (Q1 2007)
Slogan	Always On, Always Connected
Website	www.rim.com

Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (TSX: RIM, NASDAQ: RIMM) is a Canadian wireless device company. It is best known as the developer of the BlackBerry handheld communication device. RIM is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, and is a sponsor of RIM Park in the northeast of the city. It was founded by Mike Lazaridis, who currently serves as its co-CEO along with Jim Balsillie. RIM develops its own software for its devices, using C++ and Java technology. RIM also develops and sells embedded wireless data components.

1 History
2 Patent litigation
3 Competition
4 References
5 External links

History

Prior to the manufacture of the BlackBerry, RIM worked with RAM Mobile Data and Ericsson to turn the Ericsson-developed Mobitex wireless data network into a two-way paging and wireless e-mail network. Pivotal in this development was the release of the Inter@ctive pager 950, which started shipping in August 1998. About the size of a bar of soap, this device competed against the SkyTel two-way paging network developed by Motorola. The first BlackBerry was released in early 1999, using the same hardware as the Inter@ctive pager 950, and running on the Mobitex network. BlackBerry was successful early on because it did something no other wireless email device had done to that point. With this device, RIM solved the "two mailbox" problem, which previously required having a wireless mailbox and a corporate mailbox. Here RIM provided a "one mailbox" solution with a combination of their proprietary devices, middleware software (BlackBerry Enterprise Server) and a network operations center (NOC) located in Canada that retrieves e-mail using triple DES encryption and "pushes" it to connected devices. BlackBerry's success has helped change the way many in the business world communicate, being "always on, always connected." (Its early widespread use on Parliament Hill in Ottawa soon turned its name into an oft-cited verb - "I'll Blackberry you an answer tonight!") The first BlackBerry integrating a cell phone, as well as the first BlackBerry sold outside of North America was released in 2001, using the European GSM / GPRS standard. Since then, RIM has released a variety of devices running on GSM, CDMA, and Motorola iDEN networks. The ubiquity of these BlackBerry devices in the corporate environment and the compulsive use of its ability to quickly send and receive e-mail has earned it the nickname "Crackberry" as users feel they can not live without it. In 2007, RIM was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, as published in Maclean's magazine, the only wireless technology company to receive this honour.^[1]

Patent litigation

Since the turn of the century, RIM has been embroiled in a series of suits relating to alleged patent infringement. Its propensity at litigating elicited the moniker "Lawsuits in Motion" in the media.^[2]

RIM v Glenayre

In 2001, Research in Motion sued competitor Glenayre Electronics^[3] Inc for patent infringement, partly in response to an earlier infringement suit filed by Glenayre against RIM. RIM sought an injunction to prevent Glenayre from infringing RIM's patents.^[4] The suit was ultimately settled.

RIM v Good Technology

In June 2002, Research in Motion filed suit against 2000 start-up and competitor Good Technology^[5]. RIM filed additional complaints through-out the year^[6]. In March 2004, Good agreed to a licensing deal, thereby settling the outstanding litigation.^[7]

RIM v Handspring

On September 16th, 2002, Research in Motion was awarded a patent pertaining to keyboard design on hand-held e-mail devices. Upon receiving the patent, it proceeded to sue Handspring over its Treo device.^[8]^[9]. Handspring eventually agreed to license RIM's patent and avoid further litigation in November of the same year.^[10]

NTP v RIM

In 2002, Research in Motion was sued for patent infringement by NTP in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. During their defense, RIM attempted to show that NTP's patents were invalid as wireless email technology existed at the time NTP filed their patent applications. To illustrate its claim, RIM performed a demonstration to the court. Certain elements of that demonstration were established to be from after the priority dates of the patents in question and so the demonstration was not considered by the jury. The patents were found valid and willfully infringed and damages were assessed at $US 23 million ^[11]. RIM appealed against the finding that the infringement was willful, but were unsuccessful (a finding of willful infringement can lead to higher damages than mere infringement). During the appeals, RIM discovered new prior art that raised a "substantial new question of patentability" and filed for a reexamination of the patents of the NTP patents in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. That reexamination is conducted separately to the court cases for infringement. In February 2006, the USPTO rejected all of NTP's claims in three disputed patents. NTP has appealed the decision, and the reexamination process is still outgoing as of July 2006 (See NTP, Inc. for details). On 3 March 2006, RIM announced that it had settled its BlackBerry patent dispute with NTP. Under the terms of the settlement, RIM has agreed to pay NTP US$612.5 million in a “full and final settlement of all claims.” In a statement, RIM said that “all terms of the agreement have been finalized and the litigation against RIM has been dismissed by a court order this afternoon. The agreement eliminates the need for any further court proceedings or decisions relating to damages or injunctive relief.” (See also: NTP, Inc.)

RIM v Xerox

On July 17, 2003, while still imbrued in litigation with NTP and Good Technology, RIM filed suit against Xerox in the U.S. District of Hartford, Connecticut. The suit was filed in response to discussions about patents held by Xerox that might affect RIM's business, and also asks that patents held by Xerox be invalidated.^[12]