Blackberry-Crackberry, Intellectual Property, Patents

Time for Treo Owners to Fret

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During the long-running patent litigation between NTP and Research in Motion, Blackberry uses periodically had to confront the possibility of having their happily vibrating devices rendered useless. Such an apocalyptic scenario was averted when RIM settled with NTP — for the handsome sum of $612.5 million (of which $200 million wound up in the coffers of D.C. powerhouse firm Wiley, Rein & Fielding).
Now it’s time for users of another wireless email device to get stress-induced acne breakouts. From the New York Post:

NTP, the tiny Richmond, Va.-based patent-holding company, is setting its sights on industry giant Palm for [patent infringement].

NTP’s lawsuit against the maker of the popular Treo smart phones raises the specter of a prolonged legal battle similar to the one that kept millions of BlackBerry users on tenterhooks as they awaited a federal judge’s ruling on whether they could continue using their cherished mobile e-mail devices.

Palm reportedly has $500 million in cash lying around, so they should be able to pay a sizable settlement — or defend the lawsuit vigorously.
But maybe they can also set up a little legal defense fund. Treo-toting celebs like Lindsay Lohan will probably be more than happy to chip in, to preserve their uninterrupted access to good vibrations.
(Speaking of email troubles, we’re still having some of our own. See here.)
NPT Now Schemes for Palm [New York Post]

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