Is it Christmas?
Motorola and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion have just jointly announced that they have entered into a settlement and licensing agreement that ends all outstanding worldwide litigation between the two companies.
The financial terms of the agreement include an up-front payment and ongoing royalties to Motorola. Further terms and conditions of the agreement will remain confidential.
According to the press release, Motorola and RIM will “benefit from a long-term, intellectual property cross-licensing arrangement” going forward. The agreement involves all parties receiving cross-licenses of various patent rights, including patent rights relating to certain industry standards and certain technologies, such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 802.11 and wireless email.
In addition, the parties will transfer certain patents to each other.
Motorola sued RIM in the beginning of this year, accusing the company of illegally using Motorola’s patented technology since 2007, after expiry of the agreed licence period.
The issues related to a proprietary wireless technology owned by Motorola pertaining to Wi-Fi access, user interface and power management.
Motorola had gone to the US International Trade Commission to try to get imports of RIM devices banned, in addition to a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Texas. Motorola was seeking an injunction banning RIM products in the United States.
Just 3 weeks ago, RIM also settled a patent dispute with Prism Technologies over authentication software used in BlackBerry devices for an undisclosed amount of money.
Next up, Kodak? (which has also charged RIM with patent infringement)
