PATENT OFFICE LIKELY TO INVALIDATE ONE OF NTP’S DISPUTED PATENTS

摘要

Research In Motion (RIM), makers of the BlackBerry e-mail device, caught a break as the Patent Office rejected one of 5 patents at the center of long-standing suit with NTP, a Va. patent holding company. The decision is the latest of several preliminary rulings in favor of RIM as the Patent Office reviews NTP's patents. All claims in patent 6,067,451 were rejected, after the agency was informed Telenor may have a prior use claim, sources said. The action was a "non-final" action, but the Patent Office indicated it expects the decision to be final. While the impact of the ruling on RIM’s case is unclear, RIM regarded the decision as a victory. The patent fight involves RIM's use of technology to send e-mail without a need to manually retrieve messages.