RIM Files Counter-Complaint Against Visto Patent Lawsuit

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RIM Files Counter-Complaint Against Visto Patent Lawsuit

6:00 am on May 4, 2006 | Category: Business, Wireless Technology, Law

Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the popular BlackBerry wireless email device, has filed a counter-lawsuit against Visto’s recent patent infringement claims.

The company asked a federal court in Dallas, Texas, to dismiss Visto’s lawsuit as quickly as possible, claiming that the BlackBerry’s infringement on the smaller rival’s patents is simply non-existent.

If the case does go to trial, the counter-lawsuit will let RIM contest which court the proceedings take place in. They will likely do their best to move the case out of Marshall, Texas, where courts tend to rule heavily in favor of the plaintiffs in intellectual property hearings. Marshall was the setting of Visto’s last big patent win, against Seven Networks.

RIM’s Co-CEO, Jim Balsillie claims that holding the proceedings in Marshall make absolutely no sense, with neither company having a presence in the town, and that Visto is only trying to improve its odds of winning.

“They literally drive right by the RIM headquarters (in Irving, TX) and drive another 100 miles to Marshall,” Balsillie said. “Neither RIM nor Visto has any business in the Eastern District of Texas. This one is just so obvious.”

The Ontario-based RIM may also consider filing its own patent suit against Visto, Balsillie revealed, claiming that his company developed its wireless email technology “at least five years before Visto was even formed.”