Blackberry 2009 Annual Report Download - page 80

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 80 of the 2009 Blackberry annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 92

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92

78
RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
In thousands of United States dollars, except share and per share data, and except as otherwise indicated
The complaint does not seek monetary damages, but
requests that the ITC issue orders prohibiting certain RIM
products from being imported into the U.S. and sold in the
U.S. A parallel district court case on these patents seeking
damages and an injunction in the Marshall District Court has
been stayed pending completion of the ITC investigation.
On December 29, 2008, Prism Technologies, LLC filed
a patent infringement lawsuit against the Company and
Microsoft Corporation in the United States District Court for
the District Of Nebraska. The single patent in suit is US Patent
No. 7,290,288 entitled “Method and System for Controlling
Access, by an Authentication Server, to Protected Computer
Resources Provided Via an Internet Protocol Network.” The
complaint seeks monetary damages.
On December 30, 2008, MSTG, Inc. filed a patent
infringement lawsuit against the Company in the United
States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,920,551; 6,219,374;
and 7,151,756. The patents relate generally to Code Division
Multiple Access transmission systems. The complaint seeks
an injunction and monetary damages.
On March 20, 2009, Traffic Information, LLC filed a patent
infringement lawsuit against the Company and seven
other defendants in the Marshall District Court alleging
infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,785,606. The patent
generally relates to the provisions of traffic information
to mobile users. The complaint seeks an injunction and
monetary damages.
Additional lawsuits and claims, including purported
class actions and derivative actions, may be filed or made
based upon the Company’s historical stock option granting
practices. Management assesses such claims and where
considered likely to result in a material exposure and, where
the amount of the claim is quantifiable, provisions for loss
are made based on management’s assessment of the likely
outcome. The Company does not provide for claims that
are considered unlikely to result in a significant loss, claims
for which the outcome is not determinable or claims where
the amount of the loss cannot be reasonably estimated. Any
settlements or awards under such claims are provided for
when reasonably determinable.
On October 31, 2008, Mformation Technologies, Inc. filed
a patent infringement lawsuit against the Company in the
Northern District of California. The patents-in-suit include
U.S. Patent Nos. 6,970,917 and 7,343,408. These patents are
generally directed to remote device management functionality.
The complaint seeks an injunction and monetary damages.
On November 17, 2008, Spansion, Inc. and Spansion LLC
(“Spansion”) filed a complaint with the U.S. International
Trade Commission (“ITC”) against Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd. and other related Samsung companies (collectively
“Samsung”) and other proposed respondents, including
the Company, who purchase flash memory chips from
Samsung, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos.
6,380,029; 6,080,639; 6,376,877 and 5,715,194. The patents
relate generally to flash memory chips. The Administrative
Law Judge has set a trial date of September 28, 2009 and a
target date for completion of the investigation by the ITC of
June 18, 2010. On March 16, 2009, Spansion and Samsung
filed a Joint First Settlement Conference Report indicating
that they reached an agreement in principle on a settlement
agreement that would cover all of Samsung’s flash memory
customers, including the Company. Spansion, which has filed
for bankruptcy protection, is currently waiting for approval
from the bankruptcy court to enter into the agreement.
On November 20, 2008, the Company filed a lawsuit for
declaratory judgment of non-infringement, invalidity and
unenforceability against four Kodak patents in the Dallas
District Court. The patents-in-suit include U.S. Patent Nos.
5,493,335, 6,292,218 and 6,600,510 which are generally
directed to digital camera technologies and U.S. Patent No.
5,226,161 which is directed to data sharing in applications.
Kodak counterclaimed for infringement of these same patents
seeking an injunction and monetary damages. The trial is
scheduled for December, 2010.
On December 19, 2008, Saxon Innovations, LLC filed a
complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission
(“ITC”) against the Company and other proposed
respondents alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos.
5,235,635; 5,530,597; and 5,608,873. The patents relate
generally to features and functionalities for processors
in handheld, wireless communications devices. The ITC
scheduled the hearing to begin on July 30, 2009 and the
investigation is expected to be completed by April 14, 2010.