BlackBerry handed patent victory in Texas

BlackBerry has won a patent infringement dispute in which it was accused of infringing five patents covering smartphone technology.

In a judgment handed down on Friday, July 22, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas found in favour of Blackberry, which had been accused of infringement by technology company Mobile Telecommunications (MTel).

In the lawsuit, MTel initially claimed that Blackberry had infringed five patents. However, before the trial started the court found that two of the patents were directed to non-patentable subject matter, one was not infringed, and one was indefinite.

The remaining patent in-suit covered a two-way communication system between a system network and a mobile unit, but the court found BlackBerry was not liable for infringement.

Steve Zipperstein, chief legal officer at Blackberry, said: “We are pleased with the jury’s verdict. We will continue defending BlackBerry vigorously against meritless lawsuits.”