On the heels of Kodak"s complaint against Research In Motion, Motorola filed its own dispute with the BlackBerry maker on Friday. The complaint, filed with the International Trade Commission, alleges RIM is infringing on five Motorola patents. Although RIM once had a license for the technology listed in the dispute, the license expired in December 2007. The two companies have been engaged in a legal dispute since February 2008.
The ITC complaint outlines patents covering Wi-Fi access, user interface technology, and power management. Just last week Kodak issued a complaint against RIM for infringing on its patent for color image previewing. Both Kodak and Motorola are seeking an import ban in the U.S.
Many companies are utilizing the International Trade Commission for disputes, due to the expedited process. Jonathan Meyer, senior VP of intellectual property law at Motorola, stated:
"Through its early-stage development of the cellular industry and billions of dollars spent on research and development, Motorola has created an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio that is respected by the entire telecommunications industry. In light of RIM"s continued unlicensed use of Motorola"s patents, RIM"s use of delay tactics in our current patent litigation, and RIM"s refusal to design out Motorola"s proprietary technology, Motorola had no choice but to file a complaint with the ITC to halt RIM"s continued infringement. Motorola will continue to take all necessary steps to protect its R&D and intellectual property, which are critical to the Company"s business."
Meyer goes on to add the ITC typically reviews cases for a month before deciding whether to start an investigation, which could span 14 months.