RIM Told to Pay $147 Million in Software Patent Dispute
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
What I find most concerning about this is that the -idea- of responding to control messages sent via special e-mails was deemed worthy of $8 per unit. The end company doesn't get enough $s per unit to value individual ideas this highly. Even if I were willing to grant that this is an idea deserving of patent protection, and even if I was willing to consider $0 to go from the idea to a functioning implementation, there are definitely hundreds, probably thousands, perhaps even millions of ideas of this complexity involved in this one product. Individual devices would have to be priced like airplanes if this is deemed a reasonable price for each individual detail of how it works.
"The company claimed it had disclosed details of the technology to RIM during licensing discussions. After declining to take a license, the BlackBerry maker modified its software to include the patented systems, Mformation said in its complaint."
Surely the standard procedure for a patent troll is: Find company doing whatever-it-is; get in touch with them and say "We think you're using our IP; how about licensing it from us?"; talk to them; either license or sue.
However, as it happens it doesn't appear that Mformation are pure patent trolls; they do actually sell software.
Seems to not agree with what you think happened:
Find company doing whatever-it-is; get in touch with them and say "We think you're using our IP; how about licensing it from us?"; talk to them; either license or sue.