Editing BlackBerry (section)

=== Intellectual property litigation ===
==== NTP Inc case ====
In 2000 [[NTP, Inc.|NTP]] sent notice of its wireless email patents to a number of companies and offered to license the patents to them. NTP brought a patent-infringement lawsuit against one of the companies, Research In Motion, in the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia]]. This court is well known for its strict adherence to timetables and deadlines, sometimes referred to as the "[[rocket docket]]", and is particularly efficient at trying patent cases.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12741229581232708370&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr |title=NTP, Inc. v. Research in Motion, Ltd., 418 F. 3d 1282 - Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit 2005 |website=Google Scholar}}</ref>

The jury eventually found that the NTP patents were valid; furthermore, the jury established that RIM had infringed the patents in a "willful" manner, and the infringement had cost NTP US$33 million in damages (the greater of a reasonable royalty or lost profits). The judge, [[James R. Spencer]], increased the damages to US$53 million as a punitive measure due to the willful nature of the infringement. He also instructed RIM to pay NTP's legal fees of US$4.5 million and issued an injunction ordering RIM to cease and desist infringing the patents—this decision would have resulted in the closure of BlackBerry's systems in the US.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Barrie |last1=McKenna |first2=Paul |last2=Waldie |first3=Simon |last3=Avery |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=February 21, 2006 |title=Patently Absurd: The inside story of RIM's wireless war |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060221.wpatentlyabsured-rim21/BNStory/RIM2006/home?pageRequested=all&print=true |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116071908/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060221.wpatentlyabsured-rim21/BNStory/RIM2006/home?pageRequested=all&print=true |archive-date=January 16, 2009}}</ref> RIM appealed all of the findings of the court. The injunction and other remedies were stayed pending the outcome of the appeals.

In March 2005 during appeal, RIM and NTP tried to negotiate a settlement of their dispute; the settlement was to be for $450 million. Negotiations broke down due to other issues. On June 10, 2005, the matter returned to the courts. In early November 2005 the [[United States Department of Justice|US Department of Justice]] filed a [[brief (law)|brief]] requesting that RIM's service be allowed to continue because of the large number of BlackBerry users in the US Federal Government.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/11/AR2005111101789.html |last=Noguchi |first=Yuki |title=Government Enters Fray Over BlackBerry Patents. Agencies Depend on Devices, Lawyers Say |page=D01 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 12, 2005}}</ref>

In January 2006 the [[Supreme Court of the United States|US Supreme Court]] refused to hear RIM's appeal of the holding of liability for patent infringement, and the matter was returned to a lower court. The prior granted [[injunction]] preventing all RIM sales in the US and use of the BlackBerry device might have been enforced by the presiding district court judge had the two parties been unable to reach a settlement.

On February 9, 2006, the [[United States Department of Defense|US Department of Defense]] (DOD) filed a brief stating that an injunction shutting down the BlackBerry service while excluding government users was unworkable. The DOD also stated that the BlackBerry was crucial for national security given the large number of government users.

On February 9, 2006, RIM announced that it had developed software workarounds that would not infringe the NTP patents, and would implement those if the injunction was enforced.

On March 3, 2006, after a stern warning from Judge Spencer, RIM and NTP announced that they had settled their dispute. Under the terms of the settlement, RIM has agreed to pay NTP $612.5 million (USD) in a "full and final settlement of all claims." In a statement, RIM said that "all terms of the agreement have been finalized and the litigation against RIM has been dismissed by a court order this afternoon. The agreement eliminates the need for any further court proceedings or decisions relating to damages or injunctive relief." The settlement amount is believed low by some analysts, because of the absence of any future royalties on the technology in question.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6448213/did/11659304?GT1=7935 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121206040337/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6448213/did/11659304?GT1=7935 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 6, 2012 |title=Settlement reached in BlackBerry patent case |website=MSNBC |date=March 3, 2006 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

On May 26, 2017, BlackBerry announced that it had reached an agreement with Qualcomm Incorporated resolving all amounts payable in connection with the interim arbitration decision announced on April 12, 2017. Following a joint stipulation by the parties, the arbitration panel has issued a final award providing for the payment by Qualcomm to BlackBerry of a total amount of U.S.$940,000,000 including interest and attorneys' fees, net of certain royalties due from BlackBerry for calendar 2016 and the first quarter of calendar 2017.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/05/26/1297275/0/en/BlackBerry-Announces-Final-Award-in-Qualcomm-Arbitration.html |title=BlackBerry Announces Final Award in Qualcomm Arbitration |date=May 26, 2017 |website=GlobeNewswire News Room}}</ref>

In summer 2020, the [[Texas]]-based startup OnwardMobility signed a new licensing agreement with [[BlackBerry Limited]] to develop a new [[5G]] BlackBerry smartphone. OnwardMobility was cooperating with [[BlackBerry Limited]] and [[FIH Mobile]] (a subsidiary of [[Foxconn]])<ref name="David Goldman">{{Cite web |first=David |last=Goldman |title=The BlackBerry is coming back |date=August 20, 2020 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/tech/blackberry-2021-5g-phone/index.html |access-date=2021-10-14 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref> as they "sought to revitalize the iconic BlackBerry brand through an Android-based, next-gen Wi-Fi device."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2022 |title=BlackBerry's 5G Phone Is Officially Dead |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/blackberrys-5g-phone-is-officially-dead/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |website=cnet}}</ref> However, in a statement released on February 18, 2022, OnwardMobility said that not only would the development of the new BlackBerry device not be moving forward, but the company itself would be shutting down, as well.<ref name=":1" />

==== KIK ====
On November 24, 2010, [[Research In Motion]] (RIM) removed [[Kik Messenger]] from BlackBerry App World and limited the functionality of the software for its users.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://benefice-net.branchez-vous.com/actubn/2010/11/rim-blackberry-messenger-kik-application-mobile-concurrence.html |title=RIM bloque une application concurrente A son service BlackBerry Messenger |date=24 November 2010 |language=fr |website=Benefice.net |access-date=December 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127152006/http://benefice-net.branchez-vous.com/actubn/2010/11/rim-blackberry-messenger-kik-application-mobile-concurrence.html |archive-date=November 27, 2010}}</ref> RIM also sued Kik Interactive for [[patent infringement]] and misuse of [[trademark]]s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weinberg |first1=Stuart |title=RIM Sues App Maker Kik Over Patents |date=2010-12-01 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704594804575648932379804088 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |location=[[New York City]] |access-date=2016-02-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Silcoff |first1=Sean |last2=McNish |first2=Jacquie |last3=Ladurantaye |first3=Steve |title=Inside the fall of BlackBerry: How the smartphone inventor failed to adapt |date=September 27, 2013 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-inside-story-of-why-blackberry-is-failing/article14563602/?page=all |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930181216/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-inside-story-of-why-blackberry-is-failing/article14563602/?page=all |archive-date=September 30, 2013 |access-date=October 12, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2013, the companies settled the lawsuit, with the terms undisclosed.<ref name="Lawsuit">{{cite news |last=Simone |first=Rose |title=Kik eager to move on after settling spat with BlackBerry |date=October 9, 2013 |url=http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4146815-kik-eager-to-move-on-after-settling-spat-with-blackberry/ |newspaper=[[Waterloo Region Record]] |access-date=August 8, 2014}}</ref>

==== Facebook and Instagram ====
In 2018 it was reported that BlackBerry would be filing legal action against [[Facebook]] over perceived intellectual property infringements within both [[Facebook Messenger]] and [[WhatsApp]] as well as with [[Instagram]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/blackberry-lawsuit/blackberry-files-lawsuit-against-facebook-whatsapp-and-instagram-idUSL4N1QO4WP  |title=BlackBerry sues Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram over patent infringement |first=Ahmed |last=Farhatha |date=March 6, 2018 |website=Reuters}}</ref> They settled for an undisclosed amount on the 15th of January 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lenihan |first1=Rob |title=BlackBerry and Facebook Settle Patent Lawsuit |url=https://www.thestreet.com/investing/blackberry-settles-patent-lawsuit-filed-against-facebook |website=TheStreet |access-date=14 June 2024 |language=en-us |date=15 January 2021}}</ref>