Research In Motion Settles Patent Dispute with Visto Corp.
Research In Motion has concluded a long-running intellectual property dispute, agreeing to pay a settlement of $267.5 million to Visto Corp., a small mobile email provider.
Under the terms of the settlement, RIM will receive a perpetual license to all of Visto’s patents, as well as outright ownership of some intellectual property.
“This settlement is significant because it removes the last major patent-related sword of Damocles that’s been hanging over RIM for virtually the entire decade,” commented London, Ontario-based technology analyst, Carmi Levy.
RIM has faced a number of other patent lawsuits in recent years, most notably a feud with NTP, which threatened to shut down the BlackBerry email service and was ultimately settled for more than $600 million.
RIM shares climbed $2.33, or 2.97% today, to close at $80.73 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The removal of legal risk, together with strong sales of the new BlackBerry Tour device, is being credited for the jump.