Another Patent Lawsuit Sours BlackBerry

Visto, a wireless e-mail software maker, says it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Research In Motion, the makers of BlackBerry devices.

Visto says it thinks the case at hand is bolstered by its recent victory in a federal court in eastern Texas, where a jury awarded it $3.6 million in damages to be paid by Seven Networks, a wireless e-mail provider based in Redwood City, Calif.

Three of the patents in the Texas litigation are at the heart of the new lawsuit against RIM, of Waterloo, Ontario.

“Fridays sweeping decision against Seven Networks validates our claims that Vistos intellectual property serves as the basis for this industrys birth,” Brian Bogosian, Visto president, said in a statement.

“There was no ambiguity in the jurys decision. Likewise, we believe that RIMs infringement of Vistos technology will be halted. Our case against RIM is based on similar technology, law and patents as the case we have just won in federal court against Seven Networks. RIM must understand that there is no place in the mobile e-mail space for this sort of behavior.”

/zimages/5/28571.gifRead morehereabout how Visto has also sued other technology companies for patent infringement.

RIM will seek to have the patents declared invalid as part of its response to the suit, the company said in a statement.

This is the second patent infringement case that RIM has faced in recent history.

On March 3, RIM and patent-holding company NTP announced that they have entered into a settlement agreement and a license to end litigation that had been threatening to shut down BlackBerry service.

/zimages/5/28571.gifRead morehereabout the NTP litigation.

Under the terms of the settlement, RIM will make a one-time payment of $612.5 million to NTP, and in exchange, NTP granted RIM a license necessary to continue its BlackBerry-related wireless business.

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