Nokia has won a patent ruling against Research In Motion that covers the use of WiFi technology in BlackBerry devices. It means that BlackBerry could potentially block the sale of BlackBerry handsets if the companies don’t agree to a patent licensing agreement. Court action by Nokia is apparently planned in the UK, the USA and Canada.
RIM and Nokia originally put a cross-licensing agreement in place for ‘standards essential’ mobile patents in 2003. Last year RIM asked a tribunal to decide whether or not WLAN (WiFi) technology was covered by the agreement. RIM believed it was, although Nokia disagreed. The tribunal has now decided that Nokia’s patents for WLAN technology don’t form part of the cross-licensing deal.
[More details: BBC News; FOSS Patents; Computerworld]