‘CrackBerry’ Addicts Face Another Threat

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Here we go again. Research In Motion, better known as the makers of the BlackBerry products, is being sued for patent infringement, this time by Visto Corp.

Readers will recall that less RIM settled another lawsuit, this one with NTP, just a couple of months ago, after it reached the U.S. Supreme Court and threatened to sever the digital lifeline of thousands of so-called CrackBerry addicts, er, users. That suit cost RIM a cool $612.5 million.

In its suit, Visto alleges that BlackBerry infringes on its patents for software for wireless e-mail. Visto seeks (surprise!) cash damages and for RIM to stop using the technology.

The BlackBerry has been around for years. Cynics will say Visto is being disengenuous, having waited for several years (and quite possibly, to see the outcome of the NTP suit) before deciding RIM was violating its patent. Count me among them.

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About Mike

Mike Buetow is president of the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (pcea.net). He previously was editor-in-chief of Circuits Assembly magazine, the leading publication for electronics manufacturing, and PCD&F, the leading publication for printed circuit design and fabrication. He spent 21 years as vice president and editorial director of UP Media Group, for which he oversaw all editorial and production aspects. He has more than 30 years' experience in the electronics industry, including six years at IPC, an electronics trade association, at which he was a technical projects manager and communications director. He has also held editorial positions at SMT Magazine, community newspapers and in book publishing. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Follow Mike on Twitter: @mikebuetow