RIM lost patent dispute with Nokia; could result to Blackberry sales ban

Nokia asked US, UK, and Canada courts for BlackBerry sales ban over patent dispute filed against RIM

12:17 01 December 2012

A Swedish arbitrator had ruled that, as quoted by the Telegraph: “RIM was in breach of contract and is not entitled to manufacture or sell WLAN products without first agreeing royalties with Nokia.”

Following the court decision, Nokia went to a US court asking the judge to enforce the ruling, which could include a BlackBerry sales ban.

This poses a huge problem for RIM as BlackBerry devices use Wireless Local Access Network (WLAN). Nokia, which has reportedly suffered a sales decline thought to be because of stiff competition, is apparently trying to boost income through royalty fees.

“If a sales ban was imposed it would be a massive blow for RIM as it manages its transition to the new BlackBerry 10 software platform,” said Canalys analyst Pete Cunningham as reported by the same paper.

However, it is understood that analysts believe RIM will most likely reach a royalty agreement with Nokia to avoid such outcome.

RIM have declined to comment as of time of press.