Paatent Infringement | "Mformation Wins $147M from RIM for Patent Infringement"

By : Richard Springer
Source : http://indiawest.com
Category : Paatent Infringement


Mformation Technologies, an Edison, N.J.-based provider of mobile device management software, has won a patent lawsuit against Canadian firm Research in Motion, the maker of the Blackberry device.

A San Francisco jury July 13 ordered RIM to pay $147 million in damages for infringing on Mformation’s patents.

Rakesh Kushwaha founded Mformation Technologies in 1999 and has served as the company’s chief technology officer since that time.

Kushwaha was lead inventor of the patents in question. Chief scientist Badri Nath was listed as a co-inventor.

The software involved allows companies to access employees’ mobile phones remotely for upgrades, password changes or to delete data. The judge in U.S. federal District Court in Northern California calculated damages based on $8 per Blackberry device in use in the U.S. since the claim was first filed in 2008.

“We believe (the patents have) been fundamental to the success of Research in Motion,” said Amar Thakur, a San Diego, Calif.-based attorney for Mformation.

Kushwaha added in a press release, “Mformation created the mobile device management category in the late 1990s and was innovating in this area well before most of the market understood the fundamental importance of wireless mobility management.”

Damages relate only to royalties on past sales in the U.S. and don’t cover future sales or sales outside the U.S.

RIM said in a press release it was “disappointed” by the outcome and is evaluating its legal options.

"Additionally, the trial judge has yet to decide certain legal issues that might impact the verdict. RIM will await those rulings before deciding whether to pursue an appeal,” the company said.

Before founding Mformation, Kushwaha designed service management systems for telecom companies AT&T, Concert Communications and Millicom Cellular International. A former vice president of engineering at Savera Systems, the Indian American executive was also a senior member of the technical staff at Bell Laboratories and assistant professor of computer science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Kushwaha has a M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a B.S. in engineering from Delhi University. Mformation recently closed a $1.3 million funding round from non-disclosed investors.

Source : http://indiawest.com/news/5831-mformation-wins-147m-from-rim-for-patent-infringement.html