Research in Motion sued for BlackBerry patent infringement
Papers filed in a U.S. federal court in Florida show that Canada-based Research in Motion is being sued over the alleged infringement of six patents.
Dutch company NXP, Europe's third-largest chip manufacturer, alleges that the six patents are being sold in the BlackBerry Torch, Curve, and Bold smartphones, and its PlayBook tablet.
The lawsuit seeks triple damages in compensation and an immediate halt to the infringement. The six patents, issued between 1997 and 2008, include phone design and data transmission.
NXP said it now owned over 11,000 patents, issued or pending, and generated over $4.2 billion in revenue from licensing agreements.
According to Bloomberg, the other patents cover computer bus systems, GPS receivers, and circuit manufacturing.
Depending on whether these patents are software based, Research in Motion could be forced to update its BlackBerry operating system to remove the features. Hardware patents could result in a product recall following a sales injunction.
A Research in Motion spokesperson said that the company would not comment on matters relating to litigation.
Image source: Bonnie Cha/CNET.
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