Good Technology and Research in Motion (RIM) have reached an agreement to settle a series of lawsuits between the companies.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Sunnyvale, California-based Good will pay Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM an undisclosed amount and ongoing royalties, the companies said in a joint statement Friday. Further details of the deal were not disclosed.
"It is all over, litigation is done," Danny Shader, president and chief executive officer of Good, said in an interview. The legal battle has been a distraction to the company, he said. "We're now going to focus our dollars on building great products for customers and competing in the market place instead of litigation."
The settlement has no effect on Good's products, Shader said. "It is a big market, there is room for both of us," he said.
Good and RIM both offer products that enable wireless access to e-mail and other data. Good's software works on devices based on Microsoft's Pocket PC and PalmSource's Palm OS software. The company sells its products and services directly to corporate customers. RIM offers its own BlackBerry hardware and sells through mobile service providers.
RIM and Good had been fighting a legal battle since May 2002 when Good asked a court to declare that it did not violate a patent owned by RIM. In June 2002, the Canadian company sued Good alleging infringement of four of its patents. The one suit led to several follow-up lawsuits that same year.
