Mark Evans

Why is it that Research in Motion seems intent on taking its patent dispute with NTP all the way the Supreme Court when rivals such as Nokia, Good and Visto sign licensing deals with NTP? Visto became the latest NPT licensee when it signed a deal involving eight patents, including five that RIM has allegedly infringed. What does Visto's legal team see that RIM's doesn't? Terms of the Visto agreement weren't released but it looks like it didn't come cheap given Visto gave NTP an equity stake in the company. That said, Visto is just a small fish compared with RIM, which could cough up as much as $1.5-billion to NTP if a settlement is reached. If RIM rolls over or a court rules in NTP's favour, the licensing floodgates for open and you can look for NTP to pursue deals with just about any company involved in wireless e-mail software and hardware makers. Perhaps Nokia, Good and Visto have decided to strike early before NTP decides to raise its prices, or perhaps they see the writing on the wall and figure it's easier to work with NTP now. Frankly, it looks increasingly troubling for RIM given the U.S. courts are losing patient, a leading IT consultant firm (Gartner) is suggesting clients look at mobile e-mail alternatives, and rivals are playing nice with NTP.
Update: In a strange twist, Visto has launched a lawsuit against Microsoft for allegedly infringing patents used by Microsoft to access e-mail from phones and other devices. You wonder if Visto's settlement with NTP and this legal battle with Microsoft are just part of a marketing campaign to attract more cusotmers and/or attract a buyer in the wake of Nokia's acquisition of Intellisync.