The lawyer who led mobile device management firm Mformation to victory in a patent lawsuit with RIM claims the court’s decision is a boon for all inventors.
Foley & Lardner attorney Amar Thakur says the decision, which saw RIM ordered to pay US$147.2 million (€120 million) in damages for infringing Mformation’s wireless mobile device management software patents, should give even the smallest inventor heart in the US legal system.
The system, he says, “allows small businesses to protect their patented inventions against unauthorized used by large corporations. Today the legal system worked.”
Mformation filed suit in 2008, claiming RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server infringed patents it has been developing since the late 1990s. The software firm hints it may pursue further suits over the infringement, noting the recent court decision doesn’t cover future royalties, or device sales outside the US.
“We ensured that our early innovation in device management were put through rigorous legal assessment by applying for patents on those innovations in the United States and abroad,” notes Rakesh Kushwaha, Mformation founder and chief technology officer, adding. “With a total of 27 patents granted or pending, our IP portfolio will allow us to continue to shape the future of the Mobile Device Management market.”