Research In Motion Ordered To Pay $23 Million In Patent Suit

Holding Company NTP sued Research in Motion Ltd. in 2001, saying RIM's popular BlackBerry devices infringe on eight of NTP's patents for wireless communications in e-mail systems.

RIM officials say they will appeal the jury's verdict.

"We firmly believe that the jury verdict was unduly prejudiced by errors in the court's pretrial and trial rulings and we will ask the court to review these issues in a hearing scheduled for February," RIM chief legal officer Charles Meyer said in a statement Thursday.

He added: "At the appellate level, a panel of judges with specialized experience and knowledge of patent law reviews the entire record of the case."

In a report that appeared before the verdict was announced, Forbes.com quoted NTP's lawyer as saying the company could seek an injunction to bar RIM from selling BlackBerrys at all.

Such an injunction could prove devastating for RIM, an Ontario company that has become a high-tech Canadian success story.

Of the company's $73.4 million revenue this quarter, 37 percent was from BlackBerry handheld devices and 43 percent was from wireless service.

The company said it had 403,000 BlackBerry subscribers as of Aug. 31.

RIM shares were trading at $15.15 on the NASDAQ market when trading was halted in advance of the jury's verdict. Trading resumed Friday and shares closed down $1.10 a share, or 7 percent, at $14.05.

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