Motorola And RIM Drop Lawsuits, Decide To Cross-License Patents

I hate Mobile patents, I know they serve their purpose, but every couple months we hear about a new lawsuit in which two companies are suing one another over their respective patents, then a short time later the companies announce that they are working together to cross-license their technologies, it’s just one big waste of legal resources. Last year it was Nokia and Qualcomm at each others throats and this year it’s Apple vs. HTC and now Motorola vs. RIM (Research In Motion – Makers of the Blackberry).

Just like the Nokia V. Qualcomm battle this one has ended with Motorola and RIM agreeing to share intellectual-property rights, a deal that originally ended in 2007.

As part of the deal RIM is paying a one-time fee to Motorola and they will then pay royalties to use Motorola technology, while leasing part of their own patent catalog back to Motorola. The big win for RIM? Access to Motorola’s extensive database of WiFi know-how.

Now that this silly court case is out of the way perhaps Motorola and RIM can play nice and bring us some kick-butt technologies to take on Apple. [Engadget via Yahoo! News]