RIM
had been hoping that a 12-judge panel would rehear the case, after
an August ruling by three judges of the same court found that the
Canadian company had violated seven of the patents under
consideration.
The case will now return to the District Court for further
arguments on the merits of some of the patent claims and a decision
on whether to impose an injunction prohibiting RIM from selling the
BlackBerry and any other products, software or services using the
disputed technology, in the US.
RIM plans to ask the Supreme Court to review the case, according
to reports, arguing that the “case raises significant national and
international issues warranting further appellate review."
In particular, says RIM, US patent law should not apply in this
case because the controlling BlackBerry software is found on
computers in Canada – beyond the jurisdiction of US courts.
Background
RIM was found guilty of patent infringement in November 2002,
when a jury awarded holding company NTP Inc damages of $53.7
million and imposed an injunction – which was then stayed pending
an appeal.
The injunction was lifted by the US Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit in Washington in August this year, after the court
found that the BlackBerry did infringe on some of NTP’s patents,
but that one of the lower court’s key definitions, relating to the
term “originating processor," was too wide. The Court of Appeals
therefore returned the case to the District Court for further
arguments over the claims that may have been affected by the flawed
definition.
RIM appealed, asking that the full Appeals Court re-consider the
case, but the Appeals Court on Friday refused to take the case
further.
Separately, the US Patent and Trademark Office last week cast
doubt on all of the patents involved in the dispute, issuing a
preliminary rejection of a key patent in the case. The USPTO has
now cast doubt on all eight of the patents relevant to the
dispute.
RIM hopes that the USPTO rulings, which are independent of the
litigation process, will boost its arguments before the District
Court.
