Revenues up 138% on last year’s numbers
Research In Motion, which manufactures the Blackberry wireless handheld device and software has reported positive figures for teh third quarter. The company said revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2005 was $365.9 million, up 18% from $310.2 million in the previous quarter and up 138% from $153.9 million in the same quarter of last year.
The figures show that 70% of the company’s revenues are accounted for by sales of Blackberry devices, with just 7% coming from software. Commentators have said that for Blackberry to really crack the mass market its future lies as much in licensing its wireless email and keyboard software to phone and other device manufacturers as it does in sales of the Blackberry device itself.
In total RIM is now claiming a total of 2,044,000 Blackberry subscribers, having added 387,00 during the quarter.
RIM has also updated revenue guidance for the upcoming two quarters. Revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 is currently expected to be in the range of $390-$410 million. Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2006 is expected to be in the range of $430-$455 million.
Another issue looming for RIM is a long running dispute with NTP Inc, which has accused RIM of infringing several its patents for wireless push email.
The legal case has reached its latest stage, with an appeal court upholding most of NTP’s claims, which could cost RIM over $50million in damages, legal costs aside. But the appeal court has sent a certain part of the case back to the East Virginia District Court, which may result in a lessening of those damages. In short, the appeal court has found that one part of the District Court’s terminology in the case was flawed. The District Court must now determine to what extent that flaw led to jury to find against RIM.
There was better news for RIM though in another case, that against InPro II Licensing. The Delaware District court has entered a judgement in RIM’s favour, subject to appeal by InPro. This dispute is about a patent to do with a patent involved in the Blackberry thumbwheel input method.
RIM and NTP CASE HISTORY
In November 2002 a jury found that RIM had wilfully infringed patents, upholding 14 claims made by NTP and awarded damages of $23 million to NTP. RIM then moved for a re-trial but on August 2003 the district court of East Virginia found again in favour of NTP and awarded damages of $53,704,322 million. The court also passed an injunction against RIM preventing it from further manufacture and sale of all the accused Blackberry systems, sofware and handhelds. RIM subsequently appealed this judgement.
RIM’s argument was that the district court erred in constructing the technical claim terms themselves, and that under correct claim terms its products would not infringe. This involved mainly semantic discussion about whether or not, for example, “Electronic Mail System”, should refer to a wireline, pull email system, or can refer to wireless push email.
The appeal court has now rejected most of RIM’s claims, saying they had been “cobbled together” from the prosecution history. The appeal court agreed with RIM on one of its objections – the use of the term “Originating Processor”. In doing so, it has effectively sent the case back to the District Court to establish if the jury was unduly influenced by the construction of the term “originating processor” in finding against RIM.
But the Appeal Court rejected another RIM claim that as it is a Canadian company it should not come under US patent law for one of NTP’s claims.
Finally, RIM had moved to invoke a legal instrument called a JMOL (Deinal of judgement as a matter of Law). This too was rejected.