Dolby Laboratories has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Research In Motion, claiming that RIM is using Dolby’s digital audio compression technology in some of its BlackBerry smartphones and its PlayBook tablets without having obtained licences. The legal action has been filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California and the District Court of Mannheim in Germany.
Dolby is asking for financial damages and an injunction to prevent further sales of the RIM products involved. It says all other major smartphone makers have agreed to license the technologies that are the subject of this action.
Andy Sherman, executive vice president and general counsel of Dolby, said “Litigation was regrettably our last resort after RIM declined to pay for the use of Dolby’s technology. We have a duty to protect our intellectual property.”