The dispute relates to a lawsuit filed in November 2001 by NTP Inc, a holding company which claimed that certain RIM products were infringing on patents covering a method of using radio frequency wireless communications in e-mail systems.
In November 2002 a jury found in favour of NTP and awarded it $23 million, subject to an increase if the judge found that RIM wilfully infringed NTP's patents. In August 2003 the judge did just that, awarding aggravated damages of $53.7 million to NTP as a result.
The judge also imposed an injunction on the mobile device maker, prohibiting the company from selling those of its products, software and services that use the wireless technology in question. But the judge stayed the injunction pending the appeal that began in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit yesterday.
According to Reuters, RIM's lawyer, Henrey Bunsow, told the panel of three judges that there had been no infringement of the patents, declaring, "That is not the BlackBerry system in any way, shape or form".
In separate but related proceedings, the US Patent and Trademark Office is re-examining the validity of NTP's patents.
The Court of Appeals is not expected to issue its ruling for weeks, according to Reuters.