Dolby Sues RIM Over Patent Infringement, Aims To Halt Sales Of BlackBerry Devices
Breaking - Dolby has just announced that it has filed patent infringement lawsuits in the United States and Germany against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. — The lawsuits seek recovery of financial damages …
Context & Ripple Effects
The suit lands on a company already under strain: RIM's 2007 lawsuit against LG over the "black" and "berry" names showed it was willing to litigate defensively when its brand was at stake, but by mid-2011 the posture has flipped — comScore data shows RIM losing U.S. smartphone share alongside Microsoft, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 launch has slipped to September, and talk of a change at the top of the company is circulating even if unconfirmed.
Dolby filing simultaneously in the United States and Germany matters because those are two of BlackBerry's most important sales jurisdictions; an injunction in either would hit device revenue directly rather than just adding a royalty line item.
First-order effects
- RIM faces potential sales halts of BlackBerry devices in the US and Germany on top of financial damages — a direct threat to handset revenue at the exact moment its flagship refresh is delayed until September.
- Dolby converts an alleged unlicensed use of its patents into settlement leverage: RIM must now choose between paying ongoing royalties or fighting a two-front legal battle.
Second-order effects
- Rivals already gaining U.S. share per comScore get a window where RIM is distracted by litigation abroad while shipping a delayed flagship.
- A settlement would set a per-device royalty cost that compounds RIM's margin pressure just as it pushes the PlayBook and in-car software to find new revenue.
Third-order effects
- If Dolby succeeds in tying device sales to licensing terms through injunctions, audio and media patents become a standing tax on smartphone makers rather than occasional lawsuits.
- For struggling hardware companies, litigation exposure becomes another factor investors weigh alongside product cycles and leadership stability — the pattern RIM's own earlier suits against LG helped normalize.
The trend: Patent holders are increasingly willing to seek sales injunctions across multiple jurisdictions at once, turning intellectual property from a defensive shield into direct leverage over device makers' revenue.