Settlement reached in BlackBerry patent case

[brooklynite]

Research in Motion has settled its BlackBerry patent dispute with NTP, CNBC television reported Friday. Under the terms of the settlement, RIM has agreed to pay NTP $612.5 million.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11659304/

[brooklynite]

1. Duplicate

[Demit]

2. Excuse me, but I don't see any other LBN story on this. Link please?

[brooklynite]

3. Bloomberg: Research In Motion Pays NTP $612.5 Mln to End Suit

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd. paid $612.5 million to settle a patent dispute with NTP Inc., ending a four- year legal battle and averting the shutdown of BlackBerry e-mail service across the U.S.

All terms have been finalized and litigation by NTP has been dismissed, the companies said in a joint statement today. The settlement relates to all patents owned and controlled by NTP and covers all of Research In Motion's products, the companies said.

A settlement would remove a legal challenge that has dogged Research In Motion since 2001 and threatened to halt service to as many as 3.2 million Americans, including Wall Street bankers and White House staff. Research In Motion Co-Chief Executive Officer James Balsillie can now focus on fending off competitors such as Palm Inc. and Motorola Inc., amid signs that BlackBerry is slipping in popularity among consumers.

``A settlement is the only way to make NTP go away,'' Richard Williams, an analyst with Garban Institutional Equities in Jersey City, New Jersey, said before the announcement. ``It's in no one's best interests that BlackBerry shut down.'' Williams rates the shares ``buy'' and doesn't own them.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=amm04PfpBkzs&refer=home