The BBC reports that Nokia is currently involved in a patent war with BlackBerry – and if Nokia wins, it wants to ban the sales of BlackBerry devices in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
Nokia claims that the BlackBerry handsets currently sold on the market infringe a patent relating to Wi-Fi connectivity. A ruling earlier this year actually proved Nokia to be in the right, but RIM hasn’t payed Nokia its license fees to be able to use the Wi-Fi technology.
RIM claims that a previous licensing deal should cover the Wi-Fi patent, and insists it doesn’t want to pay a second fee. However, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce which is dealing with the discussions disagreed with the BlackBerry maker.
Additionally, RIM is currently in another lawsuit in German courts. According to RIM, Nokia has used RIM’s media tags, software update methods and style of data sharing – but once again, Nokia appears to have the law on its side and feels confident that it hasn’t infringed on any patents.
We know that RIM has had a rough year, but if you are looking to pick up a BlackBerry, you should stock up while you can because there is a chance that the court will conclude that these devices should be banned in the US, UK and Canada. If Nokia's request to ban them is accepted, it really could be the end of RIM and its BlackBerry brand in no time, even if BlackBerry 10 has upped RIM's shares.
Source: BBC
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