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12 October 2017Patents

BlackBerry to receive ‘ongoing payments’ after Blu settlement

Phone manufacturer BlackBerry has entered into a patent licence agreement with low-cost Android phone maker Blu, ending over a year of litigation between the two.

In a statement released earlier today, October 12, BlackBerry stated that the “financial structure of the agreement includes ongoing payments from Blu Products to BlackBerry”, but said the rest of the deal is confidential.

“We are very pleased to have reached this patent licence agreement with Blu Products,” said Jerald Gnuschke, senior director of IP licensing at BlackBerry.

He added: “The consummation of this agreement enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”

As reported by WIPR, the dispute began in August last year in the form of two complaints by BlackBerry, which accused Blu of using Blackberry’s proprietary technology in a number of products, including mobile phones and tablets.

“As a result of its infringement, Blu has earned substantial revenue selling 2G, 3G, and LTE-compliant products that use BlackBerry’s technology,” one of the complaints said.

Across the two suits, Blu was accused of infringing 15 patents, including US numbers 7,969,924, named a “method and apparatus for state/mode transitioning”, and 6,271,605, for “a battery disconnection system”.

BlackBerry said that it had offered Blu a licence on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms but that the company had never responded.

Blu filed a motion to dismiss in April 2016, claiming that three of the patents were invalid as they relate to an abstract idea.

However, Blackberry today announced that the agreement will result in settlement of all existing patent litigation between the two companies.

BlackBerry’s portfolio consists of approximately 40,000 worldwide patents and applications covering technologies including networking infrastructure, messaging, enterprise software and cybersecurity.

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